| ||||||||||||
The sovereign was introduced in 1817 as part of a re-coinage at the end of the Napoleonic wars. From 1816 the silver coins no longer contained their intrinsic value of silver they are therefore termed a "token coinage". The gold content of the sovereign was however retained at full metal value. The sovereign was a 20 shilling or 1 pound coin and was struck at the same standard, 22 carats, as the guinea it replaced. As the guinea was current at 21 shillings and the sovereign at 20, the weight of the sovereign was fixed at 20/21 that of the guinea. This gave the sovereign the the standard weight of 123 274/1000th grains. The coins were struck in the new Royal Mint building on Tower Hill with steam powered presses supplied by Messrs Boulton, Watt and Rennie. The reverse design of St. George and the dragon was developed by Benedetto Pistrucci. | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
Variety | Larger date, 8 and 2 nearly touch (Marsh 4D) | |
---|---|---|
Mintage | Issued: unknown (included in total). Rarity: R2 (Very Rare) | |
Variety | Proof FDC, thin date (Marsh 4E) | |
Mintage | Issued: unknown. Rarity: R4 (15 to 25 examples known) | |
Variety | Roman I in date (Marsh 4C) | |
Mintage | Issued: unknown (included in total). Rarity: R3 (Extremely Rare) | |
Details | Roman letter I instead of numeral 1 in date. | |
Variety | Short date height, alignment varies (Marsh 4A) | |
Mintage | Issued: unknown (included in total). Rarity: R3 (Extremely Rare) | |
Variety | Closed 2 alignment of date (Marsh 4B) | |
Mintage | Issued: unknown (included in total). Rarity: R (Rare) |
Source | Edition | About | Link | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Museums Victoria Collections | 2016 | Coin description | link | |
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins | 1971 | Mint | ||
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins | 1971 | Mintage | ||
Marsh, The Gold Sovereign | 1980 | Varieties |
Family-run store trading in rare coins and bullion, plus jewellery design and sales |
Country | United Kingdom |
---|---|
Currency | Pound Sterling (pre-decimal) |
Coin Type | Sovereign (pre-Victorian) |
Issued | 1820 |
Monarch | King George III |
Effigy | Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head) |
Face Value | 1 (x Pound) |
Total Mintage | 931,994, Rarity: S (Scarce) |
Current | No; demonetised 1891 |
Material | Gold |
Designer | Benedetto Pistrucci |
Technology | Milled (machine-made) |
Shape | Round |
Size | 22.0500 mm |
Thickness | 1.5200 mm |
Mass | 7.9800 g |
OCC ID | YMXK-DOKQ-CRQQ-OWQJ |
Buy gold and silver bullion online! |
Image | Details |
---|---|
Coin - Sovereign, George III, Great Britain, 1820
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Justine Philip Source |
|
Coin - Sovereign, George III, Great Britain, 1820
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Justine Philip Source |
|
Great Britain 1820 sovereign
Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA Source |
Source | Reference ID |
---|---|
Marsh, The Gold Sovereign | 4, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E |
Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World | Great Britain 230 |
Krause, Standard Catalog of World Coins | Great Britain KM# 674 |
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom | 3785C |