Whilst there may be many varieties in the Australian Queen Victoria Sovereign Series, there are very few Error types – and none defined by a blunder as glaring as this! Quite likely to be the simple mistake of a short-sighted or inattentive die-setter, the Queen Victoria 1880S Shield Sovereign presented here features an obverse inscription where an upside down ‘A’ has been employed for the ‘V’ in ‘Victoria’! If only for the dramatic nature of the error, this distinctive type would be hotly pursued by sovereign collectors – but then there’s the issue of rarity.

Quality control at the Australian branches of the Royal Mint was excellent – as exemplified by the lack of Error types in the Australian Sovereign Series. Although the Sydney Mint’s 1880S Shield Gold Sovereign ‘Inverted A for V’ Error clearly slipped through the system, it seems certain that the fault was quickly discovered. Undoubtedly one of the great rarities of the entire Sovereign Series, this key type is known by a tiny number of examples – appearing on the market at extremely infrequent intervals. Highly sought after by sovereign enthusiasts around the globe, regardless of the quality, we have a single example of the Queen Victoria 1880S Young Head Shield Gold Sovereign ‘Inverted A for V’ Error officially assessed and graded by PCGS at AU50.