=> British Gold Sovereigns

A Gold Sovereign is a gold coin first issued in 1489 for Henry VII of England and still in production as of 2008. The sovereign was primarily an official piece of bullion with no mark of value anywhere on the coin itself.

The name "sovereign" comes from the majestic and impressive size and portraiture of the coin, the earliest of which showed the king facing, seated on a throne, while the reverse shows the Royal coat of arms on a shield surrounded by a Tudor double rose.

Original sovereigns were 23 carat (96%) gold and weighed 240 grains or one-half of a troy ounce (15.6 grams). Henry VIII reduced the purity to 22 carats (92%). The weight of the sovereign was repeatedly lowered until when it was revived after the Great Recoinage law of 1816, the gold content was fixed at the present 113 grains (7.322 g), equivalent to 0.2354 Troy ounces. Sovereigns were discontinued after 1604, being replaced by Unites, and later by Laurels, and then guineas.

Production of sovereigns restarted in 1817, their reverse design being a portrayal of Saint George killing a dragon, engraved by Benedetto Pistrucci. This same design is still in use on British gold sovereigns, although other reverse designs have also been used during the reigns of William IV, Victoria, George IV, and Elizabeth II. It is estimated that in circulation, a sovereign could have a lifespan of up to 15 years before it fell below the "least current weight", that is, the minimum amount of gold below which it ceased to be legal tender.

Sovereigns were produced in large quantities until World War I, at which time the UK came off the gold standard. From then until 1932, sovereigns were produced only at branch mints at Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Bombay, Ottawa, and Pretoria (except for some in 1925 produced in London). The last regular issue was in 1932 (at Pretoria). Production resumed in 1957.

Sovereigns were produced most years as bullion until 1982. From there to 1999, proof coinage only versions were produced, but since 2000, bullion sovereigns have been minted. Modern sovereigns are minted at the Royal Mint in Pontyclun, Mid-Glamorgan, Wales.

MODERN SOVERIGNS (1817-2008)
Specifications For all modern gold sovereigns, i.e. from 1817
Diameter: 22.05 mm.
Thickness (Depth) 1.0 to 1.4 mms.
Weight: 7.9881 grams.
Alloy: 22 carat gold = 0.917 parts per 1000.
Actual gold content = 7.3224 grams or 0.235421 troy ounces.
Date first issued in current format: 1817
First date ever issued: 1489
Edge : Reeded

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=> Varieties : Sovereign

REVERSE DESIGNS
SHIELD & ST GEORGE ON DRAGON

Varieties in Moedern Soverigns
GEORGE III Sovereigns were minted from 1760-1820 at Royal Mint. It has portrait of the king on obverse and St. George & the Dragon Design on the reverse.

GEORGE IV Sovereigns were minted from 1820-1830 at Royal Mint. It has 2 varieties. First sovereign was with laureate head on obverse and St. George & the Dragon Design on the reverse. The second variety had bare head of the king on obverse and shield design on the reverse.

WILLIAM IV Sovereigns were minted from 1830-1837 at Royal Mint. It shows bare head of the king on obverse and shield design on the reverse.

VICTORIA SOVEREIGNS (1838-1901)
The reign of Victoria (1837-1901), niece of William IV, was long enough to prompt three distinctive portraits. These depicted her as the young woman of 18 on her ascension to the throne, as a mourning widow on her golden jubilee in 1887 and as an elderly empress in 1893 .Victorian sovereigns are divided up into three different heads, and two different reverse types, making four major types in all. These are:-
* Young Head - Shield Reverse. These were known as "Shields" and were struck between 1838 and 1887. The coin features the first design of her reign and also the Shield and was the first to be issued during the reign of Queen Victoria by the Royal Mint. The obverse was designed by William Wyon.

* Young Head - St. George & Dragon Reverse. These were usually just called "Young Heads”. It was first struck in 1871 and then regularly until 1885. This was the first Queen Victoria Sovereign to feature the Pistrucci classic St. George & the Dragon Design. The obverse was designed by William Wyon.

* Jubilee Head - St. George & Dragon Reverse usually called "Jubilees". First minted in Victoria's Golden Jubilee year of 1887, the coin featured the traditional St. George and the Dragon design, but with a new portrait of the Queen. The stunning Queen Victoria 'Jubilee Head' Sovereign was struck between 1887 and 1893; it was issued for just 6 years of her reign.

* Old Head - St. George & Dragon Reverse called “Old Heads". It was issued between 1893 and 1901. This was the last Sovereign type to be struck during the reign of Queen Victoria. It features, what has been said to be, a more realistic effigy of the elderly Queen on the reverse. It features the veiled head design of Queen Victoria. On the reverse the famous St George and the Dragon design by Pistrucci can be seen.

EDWARD VII : Struck between 1902-1910 during the reign of Edward VII, in 22 Carat Gold. Edward VII Sovereigns are always highly sought-after amongst collectors, not surprisingly due to Edward's comparatively short reign. The Sovereign features the famous design of Pistrucci's St George and the Dragon.

THE GEORGE V Sovereign was minted up until 1914 at the London branch of the Royal Mint. Production ceased because of the outbreak of the First World War. The coin was struck in London in just one further year of the reign, 1925. The reverse features the famous St George & the Dragon design by Pistrucci, with the obverse portraying the monarch George V.

Grading a Sovereign
The Important points while examining a sovereign with the St George reverse for strike & wear are mentioned below:-



* The crest of St George’s helmet
* St George’s chest, together with the strap & pin fastening his cloak
* The bridle as it crosses the horse’s neck
* The muscle separation in St George’s upper thigh
* The horse’s forequarters & rump
* The “bloodline” in the sword
* The upper band across St George’s boot
* The dragon’s torso below its neck.

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=> Mints and Mint Marks

Minting of Gold Sovereigns
Since 1871, British sovereigns were struck at branch mints, in addition to the Royal Mint in London. The first branch mint to strike sovereigns was Sydney in Australia in 1871. In 1872, the Melbourne mint started minting and struck gold sovereigns between 1872 and 1931. The Perth, Australia mint started production of sovereigns in 1899, and the Ottawa mint in Canada started in 1908. The Bombay mint in India struck sovereigns in just one year, 1918, and the Pretoria mint in South Africa started production in 1923.

MintMarks on Sovereigns

Mint : London (U.K) Royal Mint
Mint Mark : None
Years Minted : 1817–1917, 1925, 1957 onwards

Mint : Sydney (Australia)

Mint Mark : S

Years Minted : 1871–1926

S on Shield Design (Reverse)

S above Date : Saint George (Reverse)


S below Potrait (Obverse)

Mint : Melbourne (Australia)
Mint Mark : M
Years Minted : 1872–1931

M above Date : Saint George (Reverse)


M below Potrait (Obverse)

Mint : Perth (Australia)

Mint Mark : P

Years Minted : 1899–1931

Mint : Ottawa (Canada)
Mint Mark : C
Years Minted : 1908–1919

Mint : Bombay (India)
Mint Mark : I
Years Minted : 1918 only



Mint : Pretoria (South Africa)

Mint Mark : SA

Years Minted : 1923–1932

Where to Find Mintmarks ?

The mintmarks are to be found on the ground above the centre of the date for the Jubilee, Old Head, Edward VII and George V sovereigns. In the case of the St George reverse, the date appears on the reverse with the mintmark on the obverse, just below the portrait. With the Shield reverse the date appears below Victoria's portrait on the obverse and the mintmark on the reverse.

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