THE GOLD SOVEREIGN

From the Victorian Age to the present day: a brief study

While all coins have a story to tell, throughout history some coins have gained a far more prestigious reputation than others. While some coins fade quickly into the mists of history, others, like the Greek tetradrachm or the Roman solidus, dominate the monetary scene for centuries at a time, circulating throughout vast geographical areas and serving as strong currencies both at home and abroad.

The measure of a truly great currency is that it facilitates commerce across the continents, providing peoples and nations that are far apart with a regular and reliable means of trading with each other. There are only a handful of coins in this distinguished class of currencies and in many ways the sovereign is the most famous and prestigious of them all.

The sovereign was first struck in 1489 under King Henry VII and at the time was the largest gold coin in England, valued at twenty shillings. It was minted until the end of the Tudor dynasty in 1603 but then reappeared in 1817 as part of a major coinage reform, and it now flourished alongside Britain’s growing empire to become a coin of international status.


THE VICTORIAN AGE
THE EDWARDIAN ERA
GEORGE V THE GREAT WAR AND THE END OF GOLD COINAGE IN CIRCULATION
THE SOVEREIGN RETURNS IN THE MODERN ERA
THE SOVEREIGNS MINTED IN BRITAIN’S GOLD-RICH COLONIES
HALF SOVEREIGN - THE SMALLER, SCARCER PART OF BRITAIN’S GOLD COINAGE
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Gold Sovereigns guide