Gold Sovereigns

Gold Sovereigns The sovereign was unique among coins in that it had no denomination, or currency value printed on the coin. Its value was tied to the pound Sterling, which was tied to the gold standard of £3/17s/10 1/2d for a standard ounce of gold. It contained one pound's (£1) worth of gold (20 shillings), or, 22 carat gold weighing 0.2354 troy oz, a fraction under 1/4 oz. For this reason it rapidly became an accepted and preferred means of payment by the various merchants around the world, such as the Chinese silk traders, American tobacco sellers and Indian spice merchants. When the price of gold rose in the 1920s, the gold in sovereigns was worth more than the coin's face value. This value rose to 28 shillings in 1932. In 1931 general production of sovereigns ceased worldwide, and 1933 was the first time in more than a 100 years that no sovereigns were produced anywhere in the Empire. Gold coins of Australia (1852 to 1931) were also struck from 22ct gold. The 1852 Adelaide Pound, Australia's first gold coin, has an actual gold weight of 8.68 grams (Type 1) or 8.81 grams (Type 2). Australian Gold Sovereigns struck between 1855 and 1870 feature the"Sydney Mint" design. From 1871 through 1931 , Imperial Sovereigns minted in Australia are identical to those struck elsewhere, except for the distinctive Sydney (S), Melbourne (M) or Perth (P) Mintmark. Australian Sovereigns are the rarest and most sought after Sovereigns in the world today, with institutions such as Rothschilds in London taking the time to piece together a complete collection. ¹ Sovereign Gold Coins are recognized worldwide and have been used as "emergency money" for decades. Allied World War II pilots carried British Gold Sovereigns in their survival kits. Even in Desert Storm, American pilots and British SAS troops carried these historic gold coins as their emergency money in case they were downed in Iraqi territory. Genuine Sovereign gold coins are private, portable, and offer you instant liquidity worldwide.
Brief History of the Sovereign Opens In New Window	Collecting Australian Gold Sovereigns External Link to ANDA Site	Australian Gold Series Opens In New Window
Mintmarks	Random Collector Notes	Mintage Figures 1817 - Present
	Sources
*Each section links to mintages and coins in the collection*
	Queen Victoria
Young Head 1837-1887	Jubilee Head 1887-1893	Veiled Head 1893-1901

	King Edward VII
	1902 - 1910

	King George V
Large Head 1911 - 1928		Small Head 1929 - 1932

	Queen Elizabeth II
Wreath 1957 - 1968	500th Anniversary 1989	Decimal 1974 - 1984
Third Portrait 1985 - 1997	500th Anniversary 1989	Large Head 1998 -

Half Sovereigns
1831 G.B. Proof	1839 G.B. Proof	1887 G.B. Proof
1893 G.B. Proof	1911 G.B. Proof	1937 G.B. Proof
1915 Bullion	2002 G.B. Bullion	2005 G.B. Bullion

Silver Proof Issues
Melbourne Mint Cameo Proof	Adelaide Pound Silver Proof	Sydney Mint Pattern Silver Proof
2002	2002	2003

	Sydney Half Sovereign Silver Proof
	2005
Information this page sourced from KJC Coins and Chard Gold Sovereigns
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Gold Sovereigns

Half Sovereigns

Silver Proof Issues