Australian Veiled Head Half Sovereign Varieties 1893-1901
Veiled Head half sovereigns were not struck every year in Australia, but the short series of low mintage coins does exhibit two different obverse die varieties. On the first obverse (generally referred to as a type 1), the first I in VICTORIA points between rim denticles and on the second (generally referred to as type 2) the first I in VICTORIA points at a rim denticle.
The reason for the existence of two different obverse dies is unknown but Veiled Head obverse die varieties exist in many other British coin denominations so it can be assumed that some minor change or improvement was made in 1893 or 1894. Crellin suggests that the increase in rim denticles from type 1 to type 2 may have been made to improve the strike quality of the half sovereigns (Crellin, Obverse Varieties of Australia's Veiled Head Sovereigns and Half Sovereigns).
| Year | Mintage | Type 1 | Type 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1893S | 250,000 | Yes | No |
| 1893M | 5 known | Yes | No |
| 1894M | Patterns only | Yes | No |
| 1895M | Patterns only | Yes | No |
| 1896M | 218,946 | Yes | Yes |
| 1897S | 130,000 | Yes | Yes |
| 1897M | Patterns only | No | Yes |
| 1898M | Patterns only | No | Yes |
| 1899M | 97,221 | Yes | Yes |
| 1899P | Patterns only | No | Yes |
| 1900S | 260,000 | Yes | Yes |
| 1900M | 112,920 | No | Yes |
| 1900P | 119,376 | No | Yes |
| 1901M | Patterns only | No | Yes |
| 1901P | Patterns only | No | Yes |
The relative rarities of the different varieties can be difficult to estimate as not only were half sovereigns produced in relatively low numbers, their survival rate was not particularly high either due to their regular use in circulation. Briggs' research suggests that for 1896M half sovereigns the breakdown is 8% type 1/92% type 2; for 1897S half sovereigns the breakdown is 12% type 1/88% type 2 and for 1900S half sovereigns the breakdown is 5% type 1/95% type 2. The 1899M type 1 is not recorded by Briggs (p42, Briggs, Veiled or Old Head Half Sovereigns in Australasian Coin and Banknote Magazine, November 2019) but the variety does exist.
The exact arrival time of the type die in Australia is difficult to say - the die would have existed by 1894 but no circulation half sovereigns were struck in 1894 or 1895 and the use of type 1 obverse dies there doesn't discount the possibility that new dies had arrived but were not in use. The continued use of the type 1 obverse into 1900 was likely to not waste existing dies.
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