British Gold Sovereigns: An Overview

Posted by Stephen Halkovic on June 21, 2012

1558 Sovereign-Elizabeth reverse

The British Gold Sovereigns maybe the most famous gold coin even though the British Island has produced gold coins of various weights, measures and names were issued and struck. It was Henry VII who had the first Sovereign minted in 1489 with the equivalent value of twenty shillings or one pound silver and these were 23 karat gold (95.83% gold). Henry VIII created the Troy Pound in 1538 equal to twelve Troy ounces and each troy ounce equal to twenty pence, each penny equal to twenty-four grains of barley (64.8mg) instead of wheat, making the Troy pound weigh 5760 grains or 373.248 grams and the troy ounce equal to 31.104 grams. The gold Sovereign’s fineness was reduced to 22 Karat gold (91.5% gold), this fineness with 8.5% copper. This gold and copper alloy is called Royal Gold.

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1910 Sovereign Gold Great Britain Edward VII AU 58 PCGS
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1911 Gold Sovereign Great Britain NGC MS 63 1Sov King George
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1851 JOUNG QUEEN VICTORIA SHIELD REVERSE GOLD SOVEREIGN aUNC RARE YEAR !!!
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Antique 1911 - 1 FULL Sovereign George V Gold Coin GEORGIVS V D.G.BRITT
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VICTORIA GOLD SOVEREIGN, 1890, VF / SOUVERAIN OR 1890 TB [N02]
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VICTORIA GOLD SOVEREIGN, 1899, VF / SOUVERAIN OR 1899 TB [N03]
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VICTORIA GOLD SOVEREIGN 1872 VF / SOUVERAIN OR 1872 TB [N05]
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GEORGE V GOLD SOVEREIGN PRETORIA 1930-SA VF / GEORGES V SOUVERAIN OR TB [N06]
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GEORGE V GOLD SOVEREIGN PRETORIA 1932-SA VF / GEORGES V SOUVERAIN OR TB [N07]
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Later in 1553 Mary (1553-1558) had the thirty shilling gold “fine” sovereigns issued and this was used until 1603. The last English gold sovereign was minted in 1604 with King James I and the beginning of the reign of the House of Stuart. This last English gold sovereign was worth twenty shillings and had the Latin phrase “EXURGAT DEUS DISSIPENTUR INIMICI”, which translates as; “Let God arise and His enemies be scattered”, on its reverse.

1842 Sovereign-Victoria

This was replaced by the “Unite” named after its reverse “FACIAM EOS IN GENTEM UNAM” translation being; “I will make them one nation”. Various others gold coins continued to be used; the crown, angle, and the guinea was also introduced. Numerous weights and denominations were used as England struggled through centuries of great political unrest.

It wouldn’t be until the “Great Recoinage” in 1816 that the Sovereign would return as a regular issued coin being worth twenty shillings. These sovereign are now considered to be the United Kingdom’s gold sovereign. The famous “St. George and the dragon” was designed by Benedetto Pistrucci and first struck in 1817, this design still persists, with many alterations, as a commemorative of the victory over Napoleon at Waterloo.

These 22 carat twenty shillings or one pound gold coins weigh 7.988052 grams. In 1971 the weight was reduced ever-so-slightly to 7.98805 grams and with 91.667% gold content they are made with 7.322381 grams or 0.235420 Troy ounces of gold. These sovereigns were minted consistently from 1817 to 1917, at the Royal Mint in London, when in 1917 the UK abandoned the gold standard.

1914 Sydney Half Sovereign - St.. George

Large gold deposits had been discovered in Australia and mint branches were opened there to mint the Australian gold as sovereign. The mint at Sydney was the first and minted sovereign from 1855, with various designs until they conformed to the London design in 1870 and continued until 1929, all have the “s” mint mark. Then the Melbourne’s mint started production 1872, with an “m” mint mark, and continued through 1931. In 1899 Perth’s branch opened and minted gold sovereign through 1931 and have a “p” mintmark.

Ottawa Canada struck gold sovereign from 1908 through 1919 with a “c” mint mark. South Africa’s Pretoria branch minted local gold from 1923 through 1932 and used “sa” as its mint mark. During the one year of production, 1918, the Bombay branch used mint mark “I” for the nearly 1.3 million sovereigns struck there.

In 1925 gold sovereigns were struck again in London when Winston Churchill made a poor choice in trying to bring the UK back to the gold standard, the last of these were struck in Pretoria in 1932.

2012 sovereign goldproof reverse

Then beginning in 1957 production resumed in Australia, India, Canada, and South Africa in order to keep counterfeit coins from production in Syria and Italy. The need for the UK to maintain the credibility of their bullion seems to do with their foreign policy in the Middle East and the UK’s gold sovereign appears to have been a significant form of payment for related acquired services. These bullion coins were produced until 1982. From 1982 to 1999 only proof gold sovereign were struck. Then in 2000 production continued of the bullion series as well.