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A 'Gold Sovereign' is a gold coin first issued in 1489 for Henry VII of England and still in production as of 2007.^[1] The coin typically has a value of one pound sterling or 20 shillings.
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.

Contents

History

Counterfeiting

Composition

Modern production

"James Bond Money"

References

External links

History

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%), which eventually became and remains the gold coin standard (so-called crown gold) in both England and the U.S.; 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 (7.32 g), equivalent to 0.2354 Troy ounces ^[2].
In addition to the sovereign, the Royal Mint also struck 10 shilling coins (half sovereigns), £2 coins (double sovereigns) and £5 coins (quintuple sovereigns). Only the sovereign and the half sovereign were commonly struck for circulation.
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.
In Victorian times it was the practice of the Bank of England to remove worn sovereigns and half sovereigns from circulation and have them recoined. Consequently, although a billion sovereigns have been minted in total, that figure includes gold that has been coined and recoined a number of times. 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.^[3] It was actually the half-sovereign that had the most circulation in Victorian England. Many sovereigns languished in bank vaults for most of their lives. It is estimated that only 1% of all gold sovereigns that have ever been minted are still in collectible condition.
Sovereign obverse (heads) dies were also used in the nineteenth century to create farthings once they had become worn. (An obverse die could typically produce 100,000 coins.)

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 as part of Winston Churchill's ill-fated attempt to return the UK to the gold standard). The last regular issue was in 1932 (at Pretoria).
Production resumed in 1957, ostensibly to prevent the coin being counterfeited in Syria and Italy.^[4] Subsequent publication of treasury papers appear to indicate that sovereigns were widely used in pursuance of British foreign policy in the Middle East, and it was felt that the coin could not be allowed to fall into disrepute, as many individuals were receiving payments in the form of sovereigns for services rendered to the British government.
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. The coins are produced in the precious metal unit which is sealed off from the rest of the Mint, the Mint itself being protected by Ministry of Defence police. Employees are not allowed to use any coins within the Mint; plastic tokens replacing coins of the realm are used in the staff canteen.
Mintage figures for the latest British coin production are given below. Please note: these are the actual number of coins struck, not the official issue limits often advertised.

Counterfeiting

To modern eyes, the gold sovereign appears quite a small coin, however, it must be remembered that a £1 in 1895 was the equivalent in purchasing power of £150 as of 2007. Another reason for limiting the production of double sovereigns (£2) and quintuple sovereigns (£5) was the relative ease of removing gold from these larger coins - chemically, by filing, or using other techniques; for example, the drilling of small holes into the coin followed by hammering to conceal the holes.³

Composition

Sovereigns usually have a higher premium to the price of gold than some other coins, like the Krugerrand. This is due to a number of factors: the higher unit cost of the Sovereign (at under one-quarter of an ounce); the higher demand for the Sovereign from numismatists (compared to the Krugerrand which is not sought-after numismatically); and the higher costs of identifying and stocking a numismatic coin. For other ways to invest in gold, see gold as an investment.
Current sovereigns (2000 onwards) are struck in a 22 carat (92%) gold alloy,^[5] also known as Crown Gold, which contains 11/12 gold and 1/12 copper. This is exactly the same alloy first used in the great recoinage of 1817. The only time there has been a deviation from this composition was in the production of early Australian sovereigns, which used silver as part of the alloy and in London sovereigns dated 1887, when an additional 1.25% silver was added in order to make the blanks softer for new Joseph Boehm effigy of Queen Victoria. Consequently, 1887 London Mint sovereigns are more yellow in appearance than other London produced sovereigns. This additional silver affected the amount of copper in the coin, not, of course, its gold content. (Nineteenth century techniques of refining were not as advanced as today, and nineteenth century sovereigns became more accurate in terms of their gold weight as silver — which is often naturally combined with gold — was removed as an impurity from the "pure" gold used. Such minor inconsistencies would not affect either their numismatic or bullion value).

Modern production

Care should be taken when purchasing the new bullion sovereigns (2000 onwards) featuring Ian Rank Broadley's portrayal of the Queen. It is not uncommon to see a weak striking on the obverse side which carries the Queen's effigy. One should look out for lack of detail in the depiction of the Queen's hair and ear. Such weak strikings appear to be relatively common and are still evident in sovereigns produced in the first half of 2006. The Royal Mint now appears to have changed the obverse die (July 2006) and the Queen's effigy is now sharp and clear.
Viewing one of the first batch of 2007 uncirculated (so-called bullion) sovereigns, it appears the Mint's production problems have reappeared. The relief and definition on the obverse is as bad as we have ever seen. The reverse design has been completely re-engraved, although this fact has not yet been published by the Mint. The relief and definition still appears weak, especially in the centre. We have prepared comparison photographs which appear on our "Gold Sovereigns" website, and are currently working on more photographs, which will also show some of the lack of definition on the obverses, apparently due to weak striking. Whether these weak strike problems are a feature of the first production batch, and will be fixed later remains to be seen.
The Mint has confirmed that for its 2007 sovereign issue an original die, handmade by the Pistrucci has been reworked and new master tools created. The Mint has spent some considerable time choosing what it believes was the most pertinent die (from the reign of George III) with the most accurate detail. Using a combination of hand engraving skills and digital technology, detail lost over the decades was painstakingly restored.
Consequently, the 2007 sovereigns have significant differences in their reverse design from the other coins produced from 2000 to 2006. In the 2007 version the shape of the horse's tail has changed, as has the left hand side of the edge of the ground. The initials B.P. (for Benedetto Pistrucci) are also a lot smaller than on previous versions. It is also possible that the folds in St. George's cloak have also been rearranged. The reverse now most closely resembles the version of St. George and the Dragon which appeared on the 1818 silver crowns of George III.
In summary, sovereigns were produced as follows:

★ London: 1817–1917, 1925, 1957 onwards

★ Melbourne: 1871–1931

★ Sydney: 1871–1926

★ Perth: 1899–1931

★ Bombay: 1918 only

★ Ottawa: 1908–1919

★ Pretoria: 1923–1932
Half sovereigns, two pound double sovereigns, and five pound quintuple sovereigns coins were also produced.

"James Bond Money"

In ''From Russia with Love'', James Bond is given a travel briefcase with 50 gold sovereigns hidden in a secret compartment. The coin has occasionally been marketed by private dealers with this connection emphasized.

References

1. 2007 Gold Proof Sovereign
2. Gold Sovereigns - Technical Specifications
3. Money and the Mechanism of Exchange
4. Counterfeit Coin Newslatter July 2004
5. The Production of the Proof Sovereign

External links

★ Goldsovereigns.co.uk — Much information and many images

★ Gold Sovereign Mintages from 1817 to Present

★ The Royal Mint

★ 2007 Sovereigns, recut reverse dies

★ The manufacturing process of gold sovereigns.

★ The verdict of the jury from the Trial of the Pyx 2007, with information on the purity of gold British coins. Simply search for Trial of the Pyx in the Treasury's website search engine