Restrikes
An official restrike is a genuine coin struck by the original Mint, but with a retrospective date. The word restrike is often euphemistically and dishonestly used for fakes.
In this case, the word reproduction would be more appropriate.

1828 George IV Bare Head
The 1828 sovereign is one of the rarest dates of gold sovereign.

Replicas & Reproductions
We believe, unlike some other dealers and collectors, that there is a valid place for replicas and reproductions of coins. Where a particular coin is very rare or expensive, we can understand why a collector may wish to fill a gap in his collection by buying a substitute, possibly until he can afford to acquire the real thing, and in some cases permanently.

Problems & Dangers
There are problems inherent in making replica and reproduction coins. It may be necessary to obtain official permission to reproduce the portrait of a monarch on a coin.
Depending on the legal tender status of the original, and other factors, it may be coinsidered as forgery to create an exact copy, whether in the standard or other metal. Forgery and counterfeiting is a serious criminal act punishable by lengthy prison sentence in most countries. Even the possession of dies or punches for the creation of copies can be a serious criminal offence.
In some countries, the possession, importation or selling of copies is also illegal. For example, in the USA, the word "COPY" must be included as an eradicable part of the design, and must occupy at least a third of the height of the coin on one side.

Differences & Opinions
For these reasons, most replicas and reproductions are made with noticeable differences, and are not exact copies. How this is done affects the aesthetics and desirability of the end product, dependent partly on the motives of the purchaser. Many museums for example sell copies of ancient or historical coins as educational or gift items, usually with an informative card or package, and often for as little as a pound or two. These usually have some obvious feature such as a manufacturers stamp mark, "WRL" is a commonly seen mark on replicas made by Westair Reproductions Limited.
Whatever distinguishing feature is added or omitted, it should be done in such a way as to be difficult or impossible to remove without making the removal obvious, so that criminals cannot easily alter the replica for deceptive purposes.
One suggestion would be to make piedfort replicas, much thicker than normal coins, perhaps in silver, but gold plated in the case of a replica gold coin, and with the edge hallmarked, and possibly with the word COPY or REPLICA included for clarity.

1828 Gold Restrike Sovereign
The piece under particular discussion on this page is, of course, the 1828 replica shown.
Both sides of the certificate clearly state this to be a "re-strike" (sic), and it is made implicitly clear that the piece is not original, however we believe the description falls short of perfect accuracy and clarity. We believe the word restrike (in this case re-strike) should be reserved for official restrikes. Pobjoy Mint have chosen to use the word restrike, and we believe this is somewhat misleading of them. They do make official coins for a number of countries, including the Isle of Man, and they probably do produce pattern coins for pre-production approval or archival purposes. They probably also make official restrikes on occasion. We also guess that they have taken legal advice on the description and labelling of these pieces. While we are not accusing them of any clearly illegal act, we would have preferred to see them err on the cautious side. We do know Pobjoy, and have dealt with them for perhaps 40 years or more, and do rate them as being a reliable and reputable company.

Private Commission
We asked Pobjoy for any information they could provide us about this piece, and other in the same series, but they informed us that they were made for a private client on a commission, and declined to supply any other information.

Design Differences
The reproductions were made with a polished "proof" finish, which is not known in the original. The other main differentiating feature is a wide toothed border, and a thicker rim. To allow for this, the main designs are smaller on both sides of the replica than the original coin. While this probably suffices to distinguish the replicas from original coins, for most people and most purposes, it also adversely affects the aesthetic of the original, which possessed an attractive balance between space and design. The replicas look rather "clumpy" in comparison.

Devious Resellers
If we are not convinced by Pobjoy's designation of these replicas, we are, as usual, even less favourably impressed by most of the dodgy and devious description used by many small-time dealers on such sites as eBay.
We noticed one eBay member offering:

1828 GEORGE IV PATTERN GOLD PROOF FULL SOVEREIGN COIN
(This is even worse than calling it a restrike, as patterns are usually recognised pre-production samples).
This is a very collectable Limited Issue, 1828 Queen
George IV Pattern Re-strike Shield solid
22 Carat Gold Proof Full Sovereign minted by the
Pobjoy Mint.
The coin (sic) is hallmarked solid 22 carat gold in a Proof
finish and is a very Limited Issue of only 100 coins
worldwide.
These solid 22 Carat Gold coins have been struck to
proof quality using specially prepared dies and
highly polished blanks.
Specifications:
Full Soveriegn (sic) - Weight: 7.98 Grams / Diameter:
22.05mm
Metal: Solid 22 Carat Gold
Quality: Gold Proof
Issue Limit: 100 Worldwide
Presented: Boxed with Certificate of Authenticity

The London Coin Company - BNTA Member
Perhaps we were slightly dismissive in our comments about the dealers who habitually misdescribe these and similar items. The one we have quoted above is none other than the grandly titled "The London Coin Company", who are somewhat surprisingly, BNTA members, bound by a code of ethics which includes:

1) I agree to conduct my business in such a way as to bring no discredit on the Association or its Members and to take suitable action through the Association against flagrant breach of such business conduct.
4) I agree never knowingly to offer, exhibit or advertise counterfeits, copies, restrikes or reproductions without their being clearly described as such. In no way will I knowingly represent such items as being the genuine article.
6) I agree to conform to accepted standards of advertising within the meaning of the Trades Description Act.

Prices
When we wrote this page, the intrinsic gold content of a genuine sovereign was about �185. The asking price for a number of different "pattern" sovereigns on eBay, by The London Coin Company was �699.95, or about 3.8 times the gold content. In our opinion, this is excessive. As a brand new item, between two and three times the metal content would be more than enough. (Genuine bullion and proof sovereigns are only �245 and �350 each respectively from the Royal Mint, and we sell them for less!)
To be absolutely fair, we should point out that genuine sovereigns are exempt from VAT, but "patterns" and replicas are not. We should also mention that LCC are not unique in asking similarly high prices, or using similar misleading descriptions.
We also noticed the dishonest Giselle using eBay ID coins.sovereigns.exchange, offering a choice of "restrikes" at �525 each. She also steals our images.
We do not go out of our way to acquire items like this, but are happy enough to buy them second-hand, in which case, we are also happy to try to resell them at what we coinsider to be a fair market price.

Price & Availability

Date	Description	Mintage	Grade	Stock	Price £	Price $
1828	Reproduction Proof "Restrike" Sovereign, Boxed with Certificate	100	As New	Yes	£295	$450

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Guarantee
All our coins are guaranteed genuine, and we try to grade reasonably conservatively. For customers ordering by post, we want you to be delighted when you receive your coin. We thrive on repeat business and recommendation.

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