The UK Gold Sovereigns were first produced during the reign of Henry VII of England and is still being produced today. One must understand that the face value of a UK sovereign gold coin is around one pound and that the gold coin is called sovereign because of the royal portrait of the King of England sitting on the throne and his coat of arms on the opposite side of the coin.
History of Circulation
The UK Sovereigns were first released into circulation to boost the financial standings after the English Civil War. At this time, the face value of the UK sovereign was set at one pound and the purity of the gold used was 99%.
When James I took over the British Kingdom, the UK sovereign was replaced by the Unite. But in 1816, the coinage of England was overhauled using the new coin presses and the Sovereign was once again reproduced. The design of the coin was commissioned to Benedetto Pistrucci who depicted St. George defeating a dragon in battle.
Since then, the production of UK Sovereigns continued with monarchs ordering designs of the coins with their busts. Here are the 2 most common coinage designed for the royalties:
• Gold Queens – the content of gold is around ¼ ounce and featured queens like Victoria who reined from 1883 to 1901.
• Gold Kings- One famous Sovereign is that of King Edward VII who ruled after Queen Victoria. The period 1911 to 1935 saw the coin featuring King George V. Some of the coins were minted in India and Canada keeping the other side of the coin with the image of St. George and the defeated dragon.
It comes as a great news that modern collectors may now be able to purchase coins featuring Queen Elizabeth II since the minting of the UK sovereigns was temporarily stopped during the World War 1. At that time, the government needed gold to fund the war. Today, the sovereigns are produced annually only for collection purposes.
The bullion issues for 2007 and 2008 are produced using a new die acquired by the Royal Mint. The reverse design of the 2007 sovereign has considerable differences from past sovereign lines. The die was designed to be a close replicate to the one made by Pistrucci. Keep in mind that designing of the coin uses an intricate combination of engraving art and modern technology to give the most vivid modern sovereign.
The film From Russia with Love of the James Bond series featured sovereign gold coins. These coins have been placed on the market by keen collectors, raising the value of the coin in connection with the celebrity.
Purchasing UK Sovereigns
Purchasing UK sovereign coins which dates back to 1816 is possible and can be the best way for a collector to engage with a bit of history. However, the UK sovereigns from 1489 to 1604 are very difficult to find and very expensive.
The UK sovereigns are purchased basically for collection purposes and not to be traded. The primary consideration is the condition of the coin. One must be able to grade a coin properly so he or she can make a worthy investment out of it. In the long term, the UK sovereign and other gold coins are expected to appreciate in value since gold does not fade as a commodity.