The Widow or Veiled head coinage marks the end of the Victorian era which spanned 64 years now the second longest of any remaining British Monarch to our present Queen Elizabeth II. The Royal Mint took the decision to replace the somewhat unpopular Jubilee bust sovereign, 6 designs were submitted by Royal Academy sculptors. The now famous Thomas Brock design was chosen to much acclaim, and was engraved into metal by the mints chief engraver George W De Saulles, who would later go on himself to design the obverse of the King Edward VII coinage. The Widow head coinage includes the initials T.B. under the queens bust, with new legend now including ‘Empress of India’.
This coin has been graded as MS61, however it was submitted for grading due to the proof like fields that it has as you can see from the photos. Additionally with the proof like mirrored fields the coin has excellent details on both sides.
