The gold bullion coin that we know today has origins deep rooted in the history of this country. Long associated with gifts to dignitaries and even originally under a different name, the Sovereign has seen many changes over the years.

The first English coin known as a Sovereign was struck in 1489 under the rule of Henry VII, following his orders to the officers of his Royal Mint to produce "A new money of gold". This new coin certainly wasn’t the first gold coin to be minted in England, there had been gold coins in circulation for over a hundred years previous to this, however, the Sovereign was larger and more valuable than any ever seen before at that time. Weighing 15.55g it was larger and heavier than what we are familiar with today. The previously existing gold coin of the day was the Ryal, a coin that was about half the weight of the new Sovereign coin.

Under later monarchs, particularly James I, other gold coins were repeatedly being issued until the term 'Sovereign' was eventually lost under the reign of Charles II - the accepted name for a 21 Shilling gold coin was the Guinea, first used in 1668.

It wasn’t until the Coinage Act of 1816 that Britain was placed on the Gold Standard and a Pound (20 Shilling) was a given quantity of gold. It was in the following year of 1817 that the Sovereign coin was reintroduced and became the gold standard coin that continues to be the gold coin of choice, even to this day.

The 1817 Sovereign featured a design of St George and the dragon on the reverse, designed by one of the most celebrated engravers in the world, Benedetto Pistrucci. This design of St George was replaced with a more conventional image of the royal coat of arms in 1825, but following criticism of the coin's design, Pistrucci's George and dragon engraving was reinstated in 1871, and has thenceforth appeared on the Sovereigns of every monarch since Victoria’s reign apart from five special occasions, including Her Late Majesty The Queen’s Golden Jubilee year in 2002 and the 200^th anniversary of the modern Sovereign itself in 2017.

The Sovereign is probably the most famous British coin export, outliving monarchs, revolutions and empires! The coin itself is no longer traded as a coin, but has become the benchmark for gold bullion investment coinage and is devoid of Capital Gains Tax. It has even been issued to Special Forces troops during wars in the desert to bribe locals if they get into difficulty.

Still being bought by collectors and investors alike, the Sovereign will continue to drive the English gold coin market for years to come!

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