Sovereign 1885 St George, Coin from United Kingdom

Sovereign 1885 St George, Coin from United Kingdom (demonetised 1971)

Coin	Sovereign 1885 St George

A gold coin (22.05 mm diameter with milled edge) featuring a young head of Queen Victoria facing to left, with a plain band and fillet around hair. The mint mark (if any) below; around, VICTORIA D:G: BRITANNIAR: REG: F:D: The artist's initials W.W. are on the truncation of the neck.

The reverse features St. George on horseback holding short sword, the horse rearing to right over a fallen dragon which has a broken lance in its chest; in exergue, the date, 1885 and the artist's initials B.P.

Mint	Mint mark	Total Mintage
Melbourne Mint	Letter M	2,956,500 (3.0 million)
Sydney Mint	Letter S	1,486,000 (1.5 million)
Royal Mint London	No mint mark	717,723

Obverse
Young head of Queen Victoria facing to left, with a plain band and fillet around hair. The mint mark (if any) below; around, VICTORIA D:G: BRITANNIAR: REG: F:D: The artist's initials W.W. are on the truncation of the neck.

Obverse Inscription	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :

Reverse
St. George on horseback holding short sword, the horse rearing to right over a fallen dragon which has a broken lance in its chest; in exergue, the date, 1885 and the artist's initials B.P.

Reverse Inscription	1885

Edge	Milled	Edge Inscription	None

Notes

Note: the mintage figures for Sydney Mint and Melbourne Mint are for both the St. George and the Shield reverse minted in this year, as no separate figures are available.

The Royal Mint produced only St. George reverse sovereigns in this year.

The "ordinary" Melbourne coins are taken to be ref. 3857B as listed in Spink or McD 169a in McDonald (first head on obverse, horse with short tail, small BP and date in exergue). The varieties are 3857A, 3857C and 3857E.

Sovereign 1885 St George: Known varieties

Variety	Proof (Melbourne Mint)
Mintage	Issued: unknown
Variety	Short tail, no BP (Melbourne Mint) 3857A
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	First portrait, no designer's initials BP on reverse. McDonald McD 169, Spink 3857A.
Variety	Short tail, Small BP, Second head (Melbourne Mint) 3857C
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	McDonald McD 169c, Spink 3857C.
Variety	Short tail, No BP, Second head (Melbourne Mint) 3857E
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	Second portrait, no designer's initials BP on reverse. McDonald McD 169b, Spink 3857E.
Variety	Second head obverse (Royal Mint London)
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	Spink 3856F.

Sovereign 1885 St George: References to Information Used

Source	Edition	About	Link	Notes
Museums Victoria Collections	2016	Coin description	link
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins	1971	Mint		Royal Mint London
Renniks, Australian Coin and Banknote Values	1965	Mint		Sydney Mint and Melbourne Mint
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins	1971	Mintage		Royal Mint mintage
Renniks, Australian Coin and Banknote Values	1965	Mintage		Sydney Mint and Melbourne Mint mintage
Krause, Standard Catalog of World Coins		Varieties		Proof (Melbourne Mint)
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom		Varieties		Second head (Royal Mint London), Melbourne varieties
McDonald, Australian Coins and Banknotes		Varieties		McD varieties

Showing 100 from a total of 148 coins of type: Sovereign (Pre-Decimal)

Coin Name	Mintage	Effigy	Legend
Sovereign 1817	3,235,239	Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head)	GEORGIUS III D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D: 1817
Sovereign 1818	2,347,230	Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head)	GEORGIUS III D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D: 1818
Sovereign 1819	3,574	Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head)	GEORGIUS III D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D: 1819
Sovereign 1820	931,994	Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head)	GEORGIUS III D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D: 1820
Sovereign 1821	9,405,114	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Sovereign 1822	5,356,787	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Sovereign 1823	616,770	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Sovereign 1824 St George	3,767,904	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Sovereign 1824 Shield (Pattern)	unknown	King George IV - Bare Head	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1824
Sovereign 1825 St George	4,200,343	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Sovereign 1825 Shield	4,200,343	King George IV - Bare Head	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1825
Sovereign 1826	5,724,196	King George IV - Bare Head	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1826
Sovereign 1827	2,266,629	King George IV - Bare Head	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1827
Sovereign 1828	386,182	King George IV - Bare Head	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1828
Sovereign 1829	2,444,652	King George IV - Bare Head	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1829
Sovereign 1830 George IV	2,387,881	King George IV - Bare Head	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1830
Sovereign 1830 William IV	unknown	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Sovereign 1831	598,697	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Sovereign 1832	3,737,065	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Sovereign 1833	1,225,269	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Sovereign 1835	723,441	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Sovereign 1836	1,714,349	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Sovereign 1837 William IV	1,172,984	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Sovereign 1837 Victoria	unknown	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1837
Sovereign 1838	2,718,694	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1838
Sovereign 1839	503,695	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1839
Sovereign 1841	124,054	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1841
Sovereign 1842	4,865,375	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1842
Sovereign 1843	5,981,968	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1843
Sovereign 1844	3,000,445	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1844
Sovereign 1845	3,800,845	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1845
Sovereign 1846	3,802,947	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1846
Sovereign 1847	4,667,126	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1847
Sovereign 1848	2,246,701	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1848
Sovereign 1849	1,755,399	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1849
Sovereign 1850	1,402,039	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1850
Sovereign 1851	4,013,624	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1851
Sovereign 1852	8,053,435	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1852
Sovereign 1853	10,597,993	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1853
Sovereign 1854	3,589,611	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1854
Sovereign 1855	8,448,482	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1855
Sovereign 1856	4,806,160	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1856
Sovereign 1857	4,495,748	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1857
Sovereign 1858	803,234	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1858
Sovereign 1859	1,715,142	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1859
Sovereign 1860	2,555,958	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1860
Sovereign 1861	7,624,736	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1861
Sovereign 1862	7,836,413	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1862
Sovereign 1863	5,921,669	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1863
Sovereign 1864	8,656,352	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1864
Sovereign 1865	1,450,238	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1865
Sovereign 1866	4,047,288	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1866
Sovereign 1868	1,653,384	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1868
Sovereign 1869	6,441,322	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1869
Sovereign 1870	2,189,960	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1870
Sovereign 1871 Shield	11,581,250	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1871
Sovereign 1871 St George	11,581,250	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D:
Sovereign 1872 Shield	16,049,708	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1872
Sovereign 1872 St George	16,049,708	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D
Sovereign 1873 Shield	3,846,215	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1873
Sovereign 1873 St George	4,598,215	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1874 Shield	1,893,713	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1874
Sovereign 1874 St George	3,792,713	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1875 Shield	2,122,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1875
Sovereign 1875 St George	4,010,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1876 St George	7,055,866	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1877 Shield	1,590,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1877
Sovereign 1877 St George	1,487,002	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1878 Shield	1,259,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1878
Sovereign 1878 St George	3,262,275	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1879 Shield	1,366,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1879
Sovereign 1879 St George	4,126,013	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1880 Shield	4,511,800	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1880
Sovereign 1880 St George	8,161,880	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1881 Shield	3,684,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1881
Sovereign 1881 St George	3,684,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1882 Shield	3,764,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1882
Sovereign 1882 St George	3,764,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1883 Shield	1,535,450	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1883
Sovereign 1883 St George	3,158,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1884 Shield	4,537,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1884
Sovereign 1884 St George	6,306,635	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1885 Shield	4,442,500	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1885
Sovereign 1885 St George	5,160,223	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1886 Shield	4,568,500	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1886
Sovereign 1886 St George	4,568,500	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1887 Shield	2,915,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1887
Sovereign 1887 St George, Young head	2,915,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1887 St George, Jubilee head	3,054,077	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITT : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1888	7,294,424	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITT : REG : F : D :
Sovereign 1889	13,251,455	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITT : REG : F : D
Sovereign 1890	11,811,424	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITT : REG : F : D
Sovereign 1891	11,675,068	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITT : REG : F : D
Sovereign 1892	13,430,470	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITT : REG : F : D
Sovereign 1893 Jubilee head	3,147,352	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA D : G : BRITT : REG : F : D
Sovereign 1893 Veiled head	10,159,433	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA DEI . GRA . BRITT . REGINA . FID . DEF . IND . IMP .
Sovereign 1894	11,016,485	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA DEI . GRA . BRITT . REGINA . FID . DEF . IND . IMP
Sovereign 1895	9,209,186	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA DEI . GRA . BRITT . REGINA . FID . DEF . IND . IMP
Sovereign 1896	10,334,997	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA DEI . GRA . BRITT . REGINA . FID . DEF . IND . IMP
Sovereign 1897	7,662,565	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA DEI . GRA . BRITT . REGINA . FID . DEF . IND . IMP
Showing 1 to 100 of 148 Coins. Start Previous 1 2 Next End

Advertising

Family-run store trading in rare coins and bullion, plus jewellery design and sales

My Collection

Please sign up and/or log in.

You will then be able to manage your collection and record whether you have or want this coin.

Sovereign 1885 St George: Details

Country	United Kingdom
Currency	Pound Sterling (pre-decimal)
Coin Type	Sovereign (St George)
Issued	1885
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Effigy	Queen Victoria - Portrait by William Wyon (Young Head)
Face Value	1 (x Pound)
Total Mintage	5,160,223 (5.2 million)
Current	No; demonetised 1971
Material	0.9167 Gold
Designer	Benedetto Pistrucci
Technology	Milled (machine-made)
Shape	Round
Orientation	Coin Alignment (Axis 6)
Size	22.0500 mm
Thickness	1.5200 mm
Mass	7.9881 g
OCC ID	QBVY-XEWR-CJYV-OJZN

Search Similar Coins to Buy (Affiliate Ad)

Search for United Kingdom: Sovereign 1885 St George on eBay

Advertising

Buy Silver Bullion Online

Share or Bookmark this Page

Sovereign 1885 St George: Photos

Image	Details
	Coin - Sovereign, New South Wales, Australia, 1885 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Naomi Andrzejeski Notes: Sydney Mint. Source
	Coin - Sovereign, New South Wales, Australia, 1885 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Naomi Andrzejeski Notes: Sydney Mint. Source
	Coin - Sovereign, Victoria, Australia, 1885 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Naomi Andrzejeski Notes: Melbourne Mint. Source
	Coin - Sovereign, Victoria, Australia, 1885 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Naomi Andrzejeski Notes: Melbourne Mint. Source
	Australia 1885-M sovereign Fr-16 Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA Notes: Melbourne Mint. Source

Sovereign 1885 St George: Catalogue Reference IDs

Source	Reference ID
Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World	Great Britain 247 (Royal Mint London)
Krause, Standard Catalog of World Coins	Great Britain KM# 752 (Royal Mint London)
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom	3856B (Royal Mint London), 3856F (Second head)
Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World	Australia 15 (Sydney Mint) and 16 (Melbourne Mint)
Krause, Standard Catalog of World Coins	Australia KM# 7 (Sydney Mint and Melbourne Mint)
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom	3858E (Sydney)
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom	3857B, 3857A, 3857C and 3857E (Melbourne Mint)
McDonald, Australian Coins and Banknotes	McD 168 (Sydney Mint)
McDonald, Australian Coins and Banknotes	McD 169a, 169, 169b, 169c (Melbourne Mint)
Renniks, Australian Coin and Banknote Values	S43 (Sydney Mint) and S44 (Melbourne Mint)

Relevant Links

Museums Victoria: Coin - Sovereign, New South Wales, Australia, 1885

Museums Victoria: Coin - Sovereign, Victoria, Australia, 1885

Gold Sovereigns: 1885 Victoria Young Head St George Gold Sovereigns

Victoria 1885 Gold Sovereigns

Sovereign 1885 St George, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information