Gold Sovereign
Mintages

From 1817 to Present

Mintage figures do not always act as a guide to rarity for gold sovereigns, other factors must also be taken into account.
For example, in 1893 the Royal Mint undertook a policy of "continuous re-coinage" which meant old, worn and damaged sovereigns where "recycled" into new coins. Also in the 1930's , the United States, having made ownership of foreign gold coins illegal, melted down and made into gold bars the huge volume of sovereigns it received from Britain and the Commonwealth countries as payment for supplies and munitions during World War I.

King George III

King George IV

King William IV

Queen Victoria

Young Head

Jubilee Head

Veiled Head

King Edward VII

King George V

Large Head

Small Head

King George VI

Queen Elizabeth II

Young Head

Decimal Portrait

Third Portrait

Old Head


King George III
Year Bullion Proof
1817 3,235,239 Rare
1818 2,347,230 Rare
1819 3,574
1820 2,101,994 Rare

King George IV Laureate Head
Year Bullion Proof
1821 9,405,114 Rare
1822 6,356,787
1823 616,770
1824 3,767,904
1825 4,200,343 *
Back to Top

Bare Head
Year Bullion Proof
1825 *Included In Above Rare
1826 5,724,046 450
1827 2,266,629
1828 386,182
1829 2,444,652
1830 2,387,881
Back to Top

King William IV
Year Bullion Proof
1831 598,547 225
1832 3,737,065 Rare
1833 1,225,269
1835 723,441
1836 1,714,349
1837 1,172,984
Back to Top

Queen Victoria Young Head
Year Bullion Proof
1838 2,718,694 Rare
1839 503,695 1,230
1841 124,054
1842 4,865,375
1843 5,981,968
1844 3,000,445
1845 3,800,845
1846 3,802,947
1847 4,667,126
1848 2,246,701
1849 1,755,399
1850 1,402,039
1851 4,013,624
1852 8,053,435
1853 10,597,993 Rare
1854 3,589,611
1855 8,448,482
1856 4,806,160
1857 4,495,748
1858 803,234
1859 1,547,603
1859 Ansell 167,539
1860 2,555,958
1861 7,624,736
1862 7,836,413
Die Numbers Introduced
1863 5,921,669
1864 8,656,353
1865 1,450,238
1866 4,047,288
1868 1,653,384
1869 6,441,322
1870 2,189,960
Back to Top

Introduction of St George Reverse, mintage figures indicate total for both types issued, no seperate figures were kept. London only issued both types until 1874 whilst the branch mints continued until 1887
Year London Sydney Melbourne
1871 Proof (1) Extremely Rare
1871 8,767,250 2,814,000
1872 13,486,708 1,815,000 748,180
1873 2,368,215 1,478,000 752,199 (1)
1874 520,713 1,899,000 (1) 1,373,298
1875 2,122,000 1,888,405 (1)
1876 3,318,866 (1) 1,613,000 (1) 2,124,445 (1)
1877 1,590,000 1,487,316 (1)
1878 1,091,275 (1) 1,259,000 2,171,457 (1)
1879 20,013 (1) 1,366,000 2,740,594 (1)
1880 3,650,080 (1) 1,459,000 3,053,454
1881 1,360,000 2,234,800
1882 1,298,000 2,465,781
1883 1,108,000 2,050,450
1884 1,769,635 (1) 1,595,000 2,942,630
1885 717,723 (1) 1,486,000 2,967,143
1886 1,667,000 2,902,131
1887 1,000,000 1,916,424
  1. St George Reverse Only

Back to Top

Jubilee Head
Year London Sydney Melbourne
1887 Proof 797 Extremely Rare
1887 1,111,280 1,002,000 940,000
1888 2,777,424 2,187,000 2,830,612
1889 7,267,455 3,262,000 2,732,590
1890 6,529,887 2,808,000 2,473,537
1891 6,329,476 2,596,000 2,749,592
1892 7,104,720 2,837,000 3,488,750
1893 1,498,000 1,649,352
Jubilee Issues only have St George Reverse

Back to Top

Veiled Head
Year London Sydney Melbourne Perth
1893 Proof 773 Rare
1893 6,898,260 1,346,000 1,914,400
1894 3,782,611 3,067,000 4,166,874
1895 2,285,317 2,758,000 4,165,869
1896 3,334,065 2,544,000 4,456,932
1897 2,532,000 5,130,565
1898 4,361,347 2,548,000 5,509,138
1899 7,515,978 3,259,000 5,579,157 694,937
1900 10,845,741 3,586,000 4,305,904 1,927,484
1901 1,578,948 3,012,000 3,987,701 2,969,947

More Information on changes to Perth Mint mintages

Back to Top

King Edward VII
Year London Sydney Melbourne Perth Canada
1902 Proof 15,123 Extremely Rare Extremely Rare
1902 4,737,796 2,813,000 4,267,157 4,254,861
1903 8,888,627 2,806,000 3,521,780 4,678,569
1904 10,041,369 2,986,000 3,743,897 4,596,205
1905 5,910,403 2,778,000 3,633,838 4,854,698
1906 10,466,981 2,792,000 3,657,853 4,803,230
1907 18,458,663 2,539,000 3,332,691 5,028,807
1908 11,729,006 2,017,000 3,080,148 4,926,537 633 (1)
1909 12,157,099 2,057,000 3,029,538 4,526,270 16,300*
1910 22,379,624 2,135,000 3,054,547 5,646,049 28,020*

  1. Satin Proofs only,extremely rare
More Information on changes to Perth Mint mintages

Back to Top

King George V
Year London Sydney Melbourne Perth Canada South Africa India
1911 Proof 3,764 Extremely Rare
1911 30,044,105 2,519,000 2,851,451 3,413,474 257,048
1912 30,317,921 2,227,000 2,469,257 4,390,672
1913 24,539,672 2,249,000 2,323,180 4,689,749 3,717*
1914 11,501,117 1,774,000 2,012,029 4,771,657 14,900*
1915 20,295,280 1,346,000 1,637,839 4,334,135
1916 1,554,120 1,242,000 1,272,634 4,107,705 6,119 *
1917 1,014,714 1,667,000 934,469 4,116,840 58,875*
1918 3,716,000 4,969,493 (1) 3,725,961 106,570 1,294,352
1919 1,835,000 514,257 2,852,156 135,957
1920 360,000 530,266 2,533,542
1921 839,000 240,121 2,320,530
1922 578,000 608,306 2,256,187
1923 Proof 655*
1923 416,000 511,129 2,129,026 719*
1924 394,000 278,140 1,428,984 2,660*
1925 3,520,000 (2) 5,632,000 3,311,662 1,868,007 6,086,624
1926 1,031,050 211,107 1,297,625 11,107,611
1927 310,156 1,305,420 16,379,704
1928 413,208 1,399,102 18,235,057
Back to Top

"Small Head" Introduced
Year Melbourne Perth South Africa
1929 436,938 (3) 1,588,350 12,024,107
1930 77,588 1,773,914 10,027,756
1931 57,809 1,173,567 8,511,792
1932 1,066,680

  1. 5 Different guides have five different figures ranging between 4,807,000 to 4,969,000
  2. See George VI bullion issues for additional numbers
  3. Australian guides quote 137,000 but others quote 436,938
More Information on changes to Perth Mint mintages

Back to Top

King George VI
Year Bullion Proof
1937 5,501
1949 138,000 (1)
1951 430,000 (1)
1952 318,000 (1)

1. George VI bullion issues are all 1925 restrikes, which dismayed collectors of the time as it was considered scarce until then.

Back to Top

Queen Elizabeth II
Year Bullion Proof
1953 None for Collectors
1957 2,072,000 Rare
1958 8,700,140 Rare
1959 1,358,228 Rare
1962 3,000,000
1963 7,400,000
1964 3,000,000
1965 3,800,000
1966 7,050,000
1967 5,000,000
1968 4,203,000
Back to Top

Arnold Machin Obverse
Year Bullion Proof
1974 5,002,566
1976 4,045,0056
1978 6,550,000
1979 9,100,000 50,000
1980 5,100,000 91,200
1981 5,000,000 32,960
1982 2,950,000 22,250
1983 21,250
1984 19,975
Proof mintages above include coins issued as part of gold sets as well as those individually issued
Back to Top

Raphael Maklouf Obverse
Year No Bullion Issues Proof
1985 17,242
1986 17,579
1987 22,479
1988 18,862
1989 23,471
1990 8,425
1991 7,201
1992 6,904
1993 6,090
1994 7,165
1995 9,330
1996 9,110
1997 9,177
Proof mintages above include coins issued as part of gold sets as well as those individually issued

Back to Top

Ian Rank-Broadley Obverse
Year Bullion Proof
1998 11,349
1999 11,903
2000 129,069 12,159
2001 49,462 10,806
2002 75,264 19,440
2003 43,230 16,220
2004 30,688 12,685
2005 45,524 15,458
2006 75,000 15,000
Proof mintages above include coins issued as part of gold sets as well as those individually issued

Back to Top

Sources

Main