The Sovereign, an iconic gold coin.

By Alexandre Bergeron

When it comes to gold coins, there are very few designs more recognizable than the gold Sovereign. First used in 1817, the image of St George slaying a Dragon, engraved by Italian artist Benedetto Pistrucci, is now so iconic, we've even used it on our business card!

But what is a gold Sovereign? While the original gold Sovereigns were first introduced in the late 1400's, what we consider today as the "modern sovereign" made its debut after 1816 during Great Britain's great recoinage following the Napoleonic Wars. The idea was to restore confidence in Great Britain's currency and place the country on the gold standard using a new Sovereign coin with a fixed weight and purity. Replacing the 21 shilling Guinea gold coin, the Gold sovereign is 7.98 grams in weight and is made with 22k Gold (91.6% purity).  For certain years other sizes were also produced.  A half sovereign, exactly half the weight, a 2 sovereign at double the weight, and a 5 sovereign at 5 times the weight we issued.  By far though, the most common size is the standard 7.98g sovereign and most of the information that follows is for coins of this size.

Originally produced exclusively at the London mint, In the mid 1850's, the Royal Mint began authorising sovereigns to be produced at branch mints located in many of Great Britain's colonies. Australia, Canada, India and South Africa would soon follow in the production of their own Sovereigns made with the same production standards. Branch mint examples are stamped with a mint mark to tell them apart. Australian minted sovereigns have either M for Melbourne, P for Perth or S for Sydney, Canadian examples from Ottawa are marked with C, Indian ones made in Bombay with I and finally South African sovereigns made in Pretoria would be marked with SA. Those without a letter mark are examples made in Great Britain.

While most production of Gold Sovereigns by the branch mints would cease by the mid 1900's, Great Britain continued production of Gold Sovereigns for many years, even after the country would drop the Gold Standard in 1931 during the Great Depression. Many were made to fund war efforts during the first world war, as well as commemorative runs struck to commemorate major events in Great Britain history, such as the coronation of a new monarch. The gold sovereign would remain a popular trade coin with global recognition.  In fact they were so popular that during the mid 20th century many reproductions, also made of gold, were produced in the Middle East without the permission of the British government.  These examples are usually of lower purity, and are of course worth less than originals.

To this day, they continue to be made by the Royal Mint. Examples are still struck as bullion for investors, proof strikes for collectors, and to commemorate special anniversaries and royal events. While the design of the sovereign would sometimes change occasionally, especially for special issues, that classic St-George design still endures today as a timeless symbol of value. It has survived wars, economic upheaval, and massive changes in the world, and is showing no signs of going away any time soon.

But what is YOUR sovereign worth? While almost all gold sovereigns tend to be worth the value in gold, there can be some that are worth more.  Here are a few clues to help you figure out if yours is a better one:

• The ones issued in Canada with a C mint mark were issued from 1908 to 1919.  The following dates with the C mint mark are scarcer: 1908, 1909, 1910, 1913, 1914, 1916.

• Also, in the London issues without mintmarks, there are a few dates that are hard to find. 1841 in particular is a key date, although there are other years before 1850 with higher values especially in new condition.  All years before Victoria (1838) in new condition are worth extra to collectors, but the same coins in used and worn conditions may not.

• There are also some scarce Australian issues, although almost every one we encounter are dates that were produced in the millions and are just worth the gold value.

If you want to know more about sovereigns, or have some for sale, please contact us as we are happy to help you, and are always strong buyers.

Sources:

1. A History of the Sovereign: Chief Coin of the World (second ed.) by Kevin Clancy ISBN 978-1-869917-00-5

2. The Gold Sovereign (revised ed.). by Michael A. Marsh  ISBN 978-1-908828-36-1

3. Royal Mint Official Website royalmint.com