1863 Half Sovereign

The Sydney mint struck 558,500 half sovereigns in 1863, the highest

Mintage

The number of coins struck of a particular designation

 

mintage of any Sydney mint half sovereign, however mint records indicate that none were struck in 1862 (Marsh, M, A, 2004), despite half sovereigns dated 1862 (Learn more about the 1862 Half Sovereign) certainly being known. It is most likely that many of the half sovereigns struck in 1863 were actually struck from 1862

Die

A cylindrical punch with an inverted impression of a coin's design used to strike the coin

 

dies which would seem to support the relative rarity of the 1863.

The 1863 is probably the second or third scarcest date in the wreathed bust Sydney mint series, after the 1860 (Learn more about the 1860 Half Sovereign) and possibly the 1865 (Learn more about the 1865 Half Sovereign). There would be well under 1000 surviving examples of this date, probably around 600 most of which would be well worn. Finding this date above XF is extremely difficult with around 25 to 30 examples surviving that fine.

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