History of the Gold Sovereign
The Gold Sovereign coin was first produced in 1817 and is a gold coin of the United Kingdom. The gold Sovereign coin has a nominal value of one pound sterling. Struck in 22 carat gold this popular British coin retains its ‘legal tender’ status and therefore benefits from being exempt from Capital Gains Tax, making this coin very popular amongst all types of investors.
The Gold Sovereign coin depicts the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the obverse of the coin. The first monarch to appear on the official Gold Sovereign coin was King George III.
The sovereign coin is a light weight gold coin with huge popularity. Benedetto Pistrucci, an Italian sculptor designed the reverse of the coin that features Saint George on horseback atop a wounded dragon, commonly referred to as ‘George and Dragon’. This infamous design has remained a constant in Gold Sovereigns right up until present day productions.
With each reigning sovereign that the United Kingdom has seen the Royal Mint will produce a new gold sovereign coin. The Victorian era saw the production of Gold Sovereign Shield Back. This was designed for the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 and depicted the ‘Young Head’ portrait of Queen Victoria with the first shield design on the reverse of the coins, to this day a historical coin popular amongst many coin collectors.
By 1932 British Gold Sovereigns were being minted in many of the realm’s territories in coin mints from Australia, to Canada and India, the popularity of these light weight bullion coins means large distribution was now necessary.
The Gold Sovereign, considered a ‘lightweight gold coin’ holds huge popularity amongst both investors and coin collectors. Also produced in even smaller denominations, most popular being the Half Sovereign, this also comes in a quarter sovereign and even quintuple sovereign.