British Gold Sovereign

History of the Sovereign from 1489 to the modern day

The first gold sovereign was struck in 1489 for the then King Henry VII. It depicted Henry VII on the obverse and a Tudor rose and the royal shield on the reverse. No value was shown on the coin. Sovereigns continued to be issued by monarchs up until the end of Elizabeth I’s reign in 1603. The name sovereign is thought to originate from the fact that the reigning sovereign always appeared on the obverse of the coin. The name was also thought to derive from the fact that Henry VII wanted to demonstrate Britain’s power and splendour.

The first modern Sovereign

Gold sovereigns were re-introduced as legal tender in 1817 as part of a major coin reform led by the then Master of the Royal Mint, William Wellesley Pole. A young Italian engraver, Benedetto Pistrucci, was appointed to create the reverse design of the new sovereign coming up with the beautiful image of St George slaying the dragon. This design has seen many alterations over the years but is essentially the same. As a testament to its greatness, it still appears on sovereigns today. Other reverse designs have at times been used during the reigns of William IV, Victoria, George IV and Elizabeth II. A royal shield design, as used on the first sovereign of 1489, has often been used in various different formats. The obverse of the sovereign followed the trend established for the original sovereigns and portrayed an image of the reigning monarch which remains the case even today.

Gold sovereigns were withdrawn from circulation at the start of World War I in 1914 although production continued at the Royal Mint until 1917. They however continued to be produced in other mints of the British Empire but at lower quantities than before. Sovereigns not produced at the Royal Mint in London carry a mintmark to show which mint they were produced in. Production of sovereigns in other mints stopped in 1932.

In 1957 the Royal Mint began producing gold sovereigns again to meet world demand and stop counterfeit production which had become rife since the Royal Mint had stopped production in 1917. They were not however reintroduced into everyday circulation. Prior to 1979 only gold bullion coins had been issued and it was in this year that the first gold proof sovereigns were issued. Between the years of 1983 and 1999 the Royal mint ceased producing gold bullion sovereigns and only minted gold proof sovereigns. Gold bullion sovereigns were re-introduced in 2000.

1989
To celebrate the 500th anniversary a special 500 commemorative design was produced, showing Queen Elizabeth II seated facing on a throne. This was only issued as a proof and demand has grown steadily over the past few years, because as a single-date type coin, it is in demand by both date collectors and type collectors.

2005 – New Modernistic design
In 2005, the Royal Mint issued another new sovereign designed by Timothy Noad a herald painter at the Royal College of Arms actually a modernistic version of Saint George slaying the dragon with the shield as a focal point. This coin was issued in both normal circulation (bullion) and proof versions for 2005 only

2007 – 2010

The Royal Mint have used re-cut dies to take the design back almost two centuries to portray Pistrucci’s St. George and the dragon in its neo-Classical glory.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR BRITISH RESIDENTS.  Since the Sovereign is legal tender, it means it is free from Capital Gains Tax when the investment is transferred.  This makes it an excellent choice as part of an inheritence portfolio.

Types of Sovereign

Aside from the full sovereign, the Royal Mint today produces the following sovereigns in gold proof and gold bullion versions for general sale: quintuple (£5) sovereign, double (£2) sovereign, half sovereign and for the first time ever, 2009 saw the general release of a quarter sovereign.

Sovereign designs and dates

Monarch	Obverse design	Reverse design	Dates
George III	Laureate head	St George and the dragon	1817-1820
George IV	Laureate head	St George and the dragon	1821-1825
George IV	Bare head	Shield	1825-1830
William IV	Bare head	Shield	1831-1833, 1835-1837
Victoria	Young Head	Shield	1838-1839, 1841-1866, 1868-1887
Victoria	Young Head	St George and the dragon	1871-1887
Victoria	Jubilee Head	St George and the dragon	1887-1893
Victoria	Old Head	St George and the dragon	1893-1901
Edward VII	Bare head	St George and the dragon	1902-1910
George V	First Type (large head)	St George and the dragon	1911-1928
George V	Second Type (small head)	St George and the dragon	1929-1932
George VI	Bare head	St George and the dragon	1937 coronation proof set only
Elizabeth II	First portrait	St George and the dragon	1957-1959, 1962-1968
Elizabeth II	Second portrait	St George and the dragon	1974, 1976, 1978-1984
Elizabeth II	Third portrait	St George and the dragon	1985-1988, 1990-1997
Elizabeth II	Sovereign portrait	Shield and Tudor rose	1989
Elizabeth II	Fourth portrait	St George and the dragon	1998-2001, 2003, 2004, 2006-2009
Elizabeth II	Fourth portrait	Shield	2002 Jubilee
Elizabeth II	Fourth portrait	Modern St George and the dragon	2005

Technical specifications of modern sovereigns (post 1817)

	Quintuple sovereign	Double sovereign	Sovereign	Half Sovereign	Quarter sovereign
Purity	22 carat gold	22 carat gold	22 carat gold	22 carat gold	22 carat gold
Weight (grams)	39.94	15.98	7.99	3.99	1.997
Diameter (mm)	36.02	28.40	22.05	19.30	13.50
Actual gold content (troy ounces)	1.1771	0.4708	0.2354	0.1177	0.0588

Gold sovereigns, to invest or not to invest?

As one of the oldest coins in the world the British gold sovereign is highly sought after by both investors and numismatists alike. As with all gold coins, the price of sovereigns fluctuates with the price of gold due to the gold content of the coin. However the price of sovereigns is not entirely based on its gold content alone. British gold sovereigns generally fetch a higher premium than the price of gold for the same gold content. For example the 2009 gold proof sovereign retails at about £299 for 0.23 ounces of gold. The current price of an ounce of gold is around £680 therefore the price for 0.235 ounces is around the £160 mark. Therefore the 2009 sovereign is worth almost twice as much as the price of gold.

The premium of a sovereign obviously depends on its quality and whether it is easily available or not. Some sovereigns fetch a much higher premium than others.

Whilst there is no official grading system in existence, sovereigns are generally graded in the following manner in the UK:

FDC/proof – perfect quality

UNC – uncirculated

EF – extra fine

VF – very fine

F – fine

(see article on quality of gold coins)

Whilst older sovereigns were produced in much larger quantities than those produced today it is much more difficult to source a good quality sovereign from these times. Sovereigns from the reigns of George III, George IV and William IV are extremely rare in good quality. EF quality coins can be found but are quite rare and as such would fetch a high premium. FDC and UNC coins are extremely rare for these periods and when sold fetch very high premiums. A George IV sovereign from 1825 made £14950 in a sale in March 2004. Early Victorian shield sovereigns are also highly sought after and therefore an EF quality coin would fetch a high premium whilst extremely rare FDC and UNC coins would fetch incredibly high premiums. Later Victorian sovereigns are less rare than the earlier coins in good condition, however they are again fairly rare in top condition therefore sovereigns of UNC and FDC grade would fetch a high premium.

Edward VII and George V sovereigns are also fairly easy to obtain in EF condition and were produced in very large numbers so do not fetch such a high premium. As with later Victorian sovereigns, it is more difficult to find UNC and FDC grade coins and these would therefore fetch a higher premium. No sovereigns were issued for Edward VIII, however a few official pattern coins were produced. If any of these were ever to be sold they would fetch an incredibly high price due to their extreme rarity. During the reign of George VI no sovereigns were issued apart from a very limited amount of collectors sets to commemorate his coronation. This was a gold proof set and as such can be found today in FDC condition. This set would today fetch around double the price of a 2009 4 piece gold proof set. When gold sovereigns were reintroduced during the reign of Elizabeth II they were produced at much lower quantities than for other monarchs as they were no longer in everyday circulation. However despite the fact that much fewer coins were produced they were all of FDC or UNC quality.

The majority of coins were released during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and are not difficult to find in top condition. For this reason they fetch a lower premium than UNC or FDC coins from earlier periods, although they are still worth investing in as they do fetch a higher premium than the price of gold and are likely to become more sought after in the future.

Certain sovereigns are much rarer than others, some that are worth looking out for include: 1817 sovereign – the first modern sovereign and any other UNC or FDC coins from the reigns of George II, George IV and William IV (or even EF graded sovereigns from these periods), 1838 the first Queen Victoria sovereign, 1841 the rarest Queen Victoria sovereign, 1917 London minted sovereign (very few in existence as it was the year London stopped producing sovereigns) and out of Elizabeth II sovereigns the 1989 special commemorative 500th anniversary sovereign. British sovereigns are an excellent investment choice and will continue to be so. For as long as Britain keeps its currency, it seems inevitable that the Royal Mint will continue issuing sovereigns every year for collectors, investors and enthusiasts. However, if the UK joined the Euro would this signal the end for this iconic coin? If that were the case gold sovereigns would surely become more sought after than ever and consequently represent an even greater investment opportunity.

How to spot a fake

Many fake sovereigns have been produced over the years. In order to avoid buying a fake you should always buy from a reputable source such as AuCoffer.co.uk. We have however, created a list of key things to look out for to avoid buying a sovereign forgery:

• The feel of the coin – fakes are often very smooth or can have sharp edges
• Be wary of coins that are too shiny and where the details are blurred. It’s the sign that they have been cleaned and worn away some gold
• Dates – check for missing dates or check that sovereigns were actually produced in the year stated in the design shown
• Mintmarks – if there is no mintmark check that the London mint produced sovereigns in that year, if there is a mintmark check that the mint in question produced sovereigns in that year
• Weight, size and depth – check these correspond with official figure

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British Gold Sovereign was first posted on July 4, 2012 at 12:29 pm.
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