1880 Sydney Shield Reverse Sovereign

Struck a year after the Sydney International Exhibition of 1879 (where special proof sovereigns were minted for the event), this 1880 shield sovereign looks today as fresh as it did when it came off the dies on Macquarie St, Sydney. Fully lustrous and well-struck, it is the equal-finest graded by PCGS, with only two other examples available in this grade (10/19). Overall, it is a very difficult coin to acquire, and the best that I have handled since 2007.