Sovereign 1888, Coin from United Kingdom

Sovereign 1888, Coin from United Kingdom (demonetised 1971)

Coin	Sovereign 1888

A gold coin (22.05 mm diameter with milled edge) featuring the Jubilee bust of Queen Victoria wearing imperial crown and facing left, a long veil falls behind the head, the bust is draped and decorated with the Star of the Garter, and also the badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India; around, VICTORIA D:G: BRITT: REG: F:D: , the artist's initials J.E.B. below the shoulder.

The reverse features St. George on horseback holding a short sword in his right hand, the horse rearing to right over a fallen dragon which has a broken lance in its chest; in exergue, the date, 1888 and the artist's initials B.P.; the mint mark (if any) is in the ground above the middle of the date.

Mint	Mint mark	Total Mintage
Melbourne Mint	Letter M	2,830,000 (2.8 million)
Royal Mint London	No mint mark	2,277,424 (2.3 million)
Sydney Mint	Letter S	2,187,000 (2.2 million)

Obverse
Jubilee bust of Queen Victoria wearing imperial crown and facing left, a long veil falls behind the head, the bust is draped and decorated with the Star of the Garter, and also the badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India; around, VICTORIA D:G: BRITT: REG: F:D: , the artist's initials J.E.B. below the shoulder.

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

Reverse
St. George on horseback holding a short sword in his right hand, the horse rearing to right over a fallen dragon which has a broken lance in its chest; in exergue, the date, 1888 and the artist's initials B.P.; the mint mark (if any) is in the ground above the middle of the date.

Reverse Inscription	1888

Edge	Milled	Edge Inscription	None

Notes

The "ordinary" Royal Mint London sovereigns for 1888 are taken to be of the type listed in Spink as 3866B (D; G: in legend closer to crown).

The "ordinary" Sydney Mint coins are taken to be Spink 3868B / McD 176c, described by Spink as "Legend 2: repositioned legend, the G: of D: G: is now nearer to the crown. Normal JEB (angled J) initials at base of neck truncation".

The "ordinary" Melbourne Mint coins are taken to be Spink 3867B / McD 177b, described by Spink as "Legend 2: repositioned legend, the G: of D: G: is now nearer to the crown. Normal JEB (angled J) initials at base of neck truncation".

Spink also notes in a footnote: "Beware recent forgeries".

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Sovereign 1888: Known varieties

Variety	Proof FDC (Melbourne Mint)
Mintage	Issued: unknown. Rarity: R3 (Extremely Rare)
Details	As McD 177 / S-3867B.
Variety	Normal JEB (Melbourne Mint) McD 177
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	Legend 1, Normal JEB. McD 177.
Variety	Normal IEB (Melbourne Mint) S-3867A (?)
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total). Rarity: R6 (4 to 8 examples known)
Details	Legend 1, Normal IEB (called "angled J" in Spink). According to McDonald, 5 examples are known. McD 177a, S-3867A. (McD 177a may not be the same as S-3867B though?)
Notes	Prices drastically different in McDonald and Spink. Needs to be sorted out.
Variety	Small spaced JEB (Sydney Mint) S-3868A
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	Legend 1, Small spaced JEB. McD 176, S-3868A.
Variety	Normal JEB (Sydney Mint) S-3868 (?)
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	Legend 1, Normal JEB (hooked J). McD 176a, S-3868. (McD 176a may not be the same as S-3868 though?)
Notes	The descriptions seem to match but the prices are drastically different, needs to be looked into.
Variety	Normal IEB (Sydney Mint) McD 176b
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	Legend 1, Normal IEB (called "angled J" in Spink). McD 176b.
Variety	Old positioning of legend (Royal Mint London) S-3866
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	Spink 3866.

Sovereign 1888: 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
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins	1971	Varieties		Proof (Melbourne Mint)
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

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Sovereign 1888: Details

Country	United Kingdom
Currency	Pound Sterling (pre-decimal)
Coin Type	Sovereign (St George)
Issued	1888
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Effigy	Queen Victoria - Portrait by Joseph Edgar Boehm (Jubilee Head)
Face Value	1 (x Pound)
Total Mintage	7,294,424 (7.3 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	JPMV-REAP-CAYL-ONQG

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Sovereign 1888: Photos

Image	Details
	Coin - Sovereign, New South Wales, Australia, 1888 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Naomi Andrzejeski Notes: Sydney Mint. Source
	Coin - Sovereign, New South Wales, Australia, 1888 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Naomi Andrzejeski Notes: Sydney Mint. Source
	Australia 1888-M sovereign Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA Author: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles Notes: Melbourne Mint. Source
	Australia 1888-M sovereign Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA Author: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles Notes: Melbourne Mint. Source

Sovereign 1888: Catalogue Reference IDs

Source	Reference ID
Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World	Great Britain 250 (Royal Mint London)
Krause, Standard Catalog of World Coins	Great Britain KM# 767 (Royal Mint London)
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom	3866B (Royal Mint London)
Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World	Australia 19 (Sydney Mint) and 20 (Melbourne Mint)
Krause, Standard Catalog of World Coins	Australia KM# 10 (Sydney Mint and Melbourne Mint)
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom	3868B, 3868, 3868A (Sydney Mint)
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom	3867B, 3867A (Melbourne Mint)
McDonald, Australian Coins and Banknotes	McD 176c, 176, 176a, 176b (Sydney Mint)
McDonald, Australian Coins and Banknotes	McD 177b, 177, 177a (Melbourne Mint)
Renniks, Australian Coin and Banknote Values	S84 (Sydney Mint) and S85 (Melbourne Mint)

Relevant Links

Museums Victoria: Coin - Sovereign, New South Wales, Australia, 1888

Gold Sovereigns: 1888 Jubilee Head Gold Sovereign

Victoria 1888 Gold Sovereigns

Sovereign 1888, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information