Dated 1911, the year of King George V’s coronation, this original Gold Half-Sovereign provides a direct connection to an important moment in British royal history. Struck at The Royal Mint’s former home at Tower Hill in London, it was issued at a time when gold Sovereigns and Half-Sovereigns still played an active role in everyday circulation.

The obverse bears the first coinage portrait of King George V by the Australian-born sculptor Bertram Mackennal. The King is shown bare-headed and facing left, with Mackennal’s small initials, ‘B.M.’, appearing on the truncation of the portrait. As 1911 was the first year in which George V appeared on British coinage, the issue holds particular appeal for collectors of monarch portraits and coronation-year coins.

On the reverse is Benedetto Pistrucci’s celebrated St George and the dragon design. St George is shown mounted on horseback, defeating the dragon with a sword, while the date sits below the ground line. Introduced on the modern Sovereign in 1817, Pistrucci’s design had already become an enduring symbol of British coinage by the time this coin was struck.

Struck in 22 carat gold, the Half-Sovereign weighs 3.99g and measures 19.30mm in diameter. It has a milled edge and, as a London issue, carries no branch-mint mark.

This example is offered in Extremely Fine condition. Its original circulating history remains visible, while the principal features of Mackennal’s portrait and Pistrucci’s classic reverse are clearly preserved. The 1911 date is especially meaningful: George V was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 22 June 1911, in a coronation attended by European royalty shortly before the outbreak of the First World War.

As one of the last London-struck circulating Gold Half-Sovereigns issued before the First World War brought regular domestic production to an end, this 1911 example is a thoughtful addition to a collection of historic British gold, George V coinage or coronation-year issues.