1836 Sovereign with "N" in shield

The early sovereign series is replete with unusual errors and varieties. One of the most dramatic occurs on the 1836 sovereign, where a handful of coins exhibit a stray “N” in the lower-left quadrant of the shield. Whether the addition of the errant N onto the dies was a careless accident by an illiterate die sinker, or—as hypothesised in some numismatic circles—an expression of support for the recent political coup in neighbouring France by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (for whom the Napoleonic N was an emblem) is not known. What is clear, however, is that fewer than twenty coins are known, making the “N in shield” variety one of the rarest currency-issue sovereigns across the entire sovereign series. If you collect William IV sovereigns or are a sophisticated collector seeking a major British rarity, the present coin, photograph above, makes an ideal addition to your collection.