Half sovereign variety ?

[echidna]

Is that the number 1 or the letter I ?
I see this on many 1880 1883 and 1881 Sydney mint half sovs.

[Robster]

"Good Detective Work."

[accumulator]

I don't know much about gold sovereigns but it certainly looks like a 1 when you compare it to the I in FID.
I just did a google images search on gold half sovereign shield type & all the coins i looked at had the normal I where yours has the 1 .

[Mister T]

Nice find. Do they look like a broken I or an actual 1?
Could it be from another reverse master die?

[echidna]

Nice find. Do they look like a broken I or an actual 1?
Could it be from another reverse master die?

I don't actually own one so I cant say what it looks like in the hand.
The image was taken from the Blue Sheet.
If you search ebay or Nobles archives you will find a number like this.
So they are not rare.
Since it appears on 1880 1881 and 1883 my guess is that its something to do with the master die.