Silver Sovereign, Coin Type from United Kingdom - detailed information

The Sovereign is the flagship of the Royal Mint bullion coin range. It started its life in 1817 as a gold coin of the United Kingdom, with a nominal face value of £1 (one pound sterling), originally as a regular circulating coin (see pre-decimal Sovereign) accepted in Britain and elsewhere in the world, and later as a bullion coin not intended for circulation but as a store of the intrinsic value of its metal. Its "definitive" version bears the reverse design of Saint George and the Dragon created by Benedetto Pistrucci.

The original coin was supposed to have gold content to the exact value of one pound at the fixed price of gold at that time, and fractional and multiple denominations had weights in exact proportion - i.e. the half sovereign was exactly half the weight, the double sovereign was exactly double the weight etc. By long standing tradition, the face value is not written on the coin - the denomination is supposed to be inferred from its weight.

The sovereign range was issued in 22 carat gold only until the Royal Mint introduced the concept of a "Silver Sovereign" in 2025, with a "Sovereign" coin having the same diameter and weight as a full gold sovereign, but made of 99.9% silver. Since silver has much lower density than gold, the coin has to be thicker to make up for it.

The weight of the coin is not related to the troy ounce, but we have grouped them with the "silver quarter ounce" type because they are roughly equivalent.