Sale: Triton IX, Lot: 2311. Estimate $2500.  Closing Date: Monday, 9 January 2006.  Sold For $3750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

HANOVER. Victoria. 1837-1901. AV Sovereign (6h). Ansell experimental issue. Dated 1859. VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1859, young head left, with fillet; extra line in lower band of fillet / BRITANNIARVM REGINA FID : DEF :, crowned coat-of-arms. Marsh 42A; Schneider -; SCBC 3852E. In PCGS slab, graded XF45. Rare. ($2500)

In 1859 a consignment of Australian gold arrived at the Royal Mint for coining into sovereigns. It was found to be alloyed with antimony, arsenic and lead, and consequently too brittle to be used without further expensive refining. Mr. G. F. Ansell, a metallurgist employed at the mint, experimented with the metal and devised a simplified process for making the gold more malleable. 167,529 sovereigns were struck from the gold shipment, the obverse dies specially marked to indicate the use of a different alloy. Mr. Ansell received a £100 bonus for his cost-saving efforts.