Victoria Shield Back Sovereign. 1872/1 M Melbourne. Rare. R4 in Marsh, The Gold Sovereign. High Grade. Sharp Detail. Gold. 7.98 grams 22mm. Without a doubt, one of the finest known to exist. See link below for the information provided. https://coinworks.com.au/1872-1-Sovereign-Melbourne-Mint~6567 COMMENTS One overdate variety exists in the Young Head series of sovereigns: the 1872/1 Sovereign struck at the Melbourne Mint. The coin was struck for only a few days in September 1872 with dies that had been re-worked from those dated 1871. Extremely rare in any condition, but this coin is the finest known. PRICE $ 20,000 Australian Dollars. £10,329.70 at todays exchange rate. STATUS Sold December 2015. WHEN GOLD WAS JUST £700.00 Per Troy Ounce approx. The Melbourne Mint was the second branch of the Royal Mint London to be opened in Australia and commenced operations striking gold sovereigns in 1872. Historical records confirm that the first batch of dies sent to the Melbourne Mint from the Royal Mint London were dated 1871. Dies dated 1872 did not reach Melbourne until April of that year. Records indicate that the Melbourne Mint were depleting their supply of dies at a frightening pace, quite likely due to their relative inexperience in striking coinage. To ensure that they could maintain sovereign production, the mint engaged famous colonial jeweller Julius Hogarth to provide a back-up supply of dies by re-working the 1871 dies and altering the ‘1’ to a ‘2’. A close inspection of the coins shows that his work was far from perfect. Nevertheless Hogarth helped to create one of the great rarities in the Australian sovereign series. All my coins are guaranteed to be 100% genuine. The coin in the pictures is the coin you will receive. See images for an accurate impression.