Expert: Brad Swain - 1/31/2010

Question
Hi, I was left my grandfathers coin collection, most of which are Australian Pennies and Half pennies but there were a couple odd ones in there I would love to know more about. The first is 1823 on the back it says Britanniar Rex F:D: Georgius IIII D:G: with King George head and on the front is the year 1823 with a man on a horse slaying a dragon. The other has the year 1809 on the front with I believe to be a coat of arms and a crown on the top and it reads Britanniarum Rex Fidei Defensor on the other side it reads Georgivs III Dei Gratia with a king's head with a wreath around his head, this coin is very thin and is a bright gold looking colour. It would be wonderful if you could give me any information on these coins ie where they are from and values.
Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Danielle, the 1823 is likely a British gold Sovereign coin (1 Pound) if it is 22 millimeters across depicting King George IV (1820-30) as well as Benedetto Pistrucci's rendition of St. George slaying a dragon. There may be a mintmark letter below the horse's rear hoof indicating it was minted and used in one of the British colonies. A Sovereign should weigh 7.988 grams and would contain .2354 of an ounce of gold. There were 617,000 minted that year. Collector value may be worth about $300 with heavy wear to around $1200 with moderate wear to maybe $3500 with light wear.
The 1809 sounds like a British 1/2 Guinea of King George III (1760-1820). This coin should weigh 4.175 grams and would contain .1230 of an ounce of gold. Collector value may be worth about $135 with heavy wear to around $175 with moderate wear to maybe $425 with light wear.
Current gold and silver values: http://www.kitco.com/market/ .
You might try Ebay.com for similar pieces for comparison.
You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
Brad