1885 Melbourne St George Reverse Sovereign with WW buried PCGS MS62
S-3857B, with buried WW initials and BP present on reverse. There are a number of varieties across the young head sovereign series related to the length of the tail, as well as the size and presence of the designers’ initials. One of the harder varieties is found on the 1885-M sovereign, and relates to the size and shape of William Wyon’s initials in the truncation of Queen Victoria. The rare variety has the WW initials buried within the truncation, with the base of the letters intruding into the fields. The WW also has serifs. It is a significant variety that is rarely found in even circulated grades. The coin photographed above is the single-finest of this rare variety graded by PCGS (8/21), and in this grade is rarer than many of the early classic key dates, such as 1871-S and 1872-M. It is an essential coin to the young head sovereign variety set. Professional Coin Grading Service is the global leader in coin authentication and grading. With over 60 million coins graded and counting, PCGS is trusted by collectors, dealers, and investors to certify authenticity, protect value, and elevate market confidence. This is a direct conversion of the 70-point PCGS grade to a 10-point scale, intended to present the grade in a more intuitive format for newer collectors. It is not our personal opinion or an attempt at regrading the coin to a different standard. To understand how the 70-point scale converts to a 10-point scale, [click here](https://drakesterling.com/en/page/the-ten-point-coin-grading-scale).