Full Sovereign 1880 Melbourne

Very Rare Key Date

Classification

Scarcity Rating
Very Rare
Between 100 and 1,000 are believed to exist. Seldom encountered.
Recognition Status
Key Date
Explicitly identified as a key date in multiple independent standard references.

Evidence

Struck Mintage
3,053,454
Issue Format
Circulation
Survival Evidence
Marsh R2
Data Confidence
Low
Classification Confidence
Low
Verification
Conflicting

Design Information

Reverse Design
Crowned Shield (Merlen)
Designer
Jean Baptiste Merlen (reverse), William Wyon (obverse)

Design information is recorded as factual metadata. It does not affect the Scarcity Rating.

Classification Reasoning

The 1880 Melbourne Full Sovereign (Circulation) has been classified with Scarcity Rating: Very Rare and Recognition Status: Key Date. Verified struck mintage: 3,053,454. Scarcity is driven by survival evidence (Marsh R2), which overrides the production band of Common. Recognition: explicitly identified as a Key Date in multiple independent standard references. Design: Crowned Shield (Merlen) by Jean Baptiste Merlen (reverse), William Wyon (obverse). Data Confidence: Low. Classification Confidence: Low. Verification status: Conflicting. Supported by Tier 1 (mint-published) source. Classification is condition-independent. Design significance is recorded as metadata and does not affect the Scarcity Rating.

Sources

  1. Annual Reports of the Melbourne Branch of the Royal Mint (cited mintage: 3,053,454) Tier 1
  2. English Gold Coinage by Michael Marsh , 2023 edition , p. p.62 (cited mintage: 2,740,594) Tier 2

Contextual Notes

The following information is provided for context only and does not affect the Scarcity Rating or Recognition Status.

Young Head type