The Sovereign has an enduring legacy that has ensured the coin’s survival through to the modern day, despite its removal from circulation. Our Three Centuries of The Sovereign set takes a closer look at how the use of The Sovereign has evolved throughout its time in circulation and beyond.

The Tudor Sovereign

Introduced during the reign of Henry VII, the Tudor Sovereign was a large, hammered gold coin that had a value of 20 shillings. It was introduced in 1489 as a way of helping to establish the legitimacy and authority of the new Tudor dynasty.

At the time, the Tudor Sovereign was the largest gold coin that had ever been struck in England, which meant it was rarely handled by ordinary people. The coin continued to be struck until the reign of James I, when it was replaced by the unite.

The Modern Sovereign

In the nineteenth century, the public had become accustomed to using a twenty-shilling note in the years following the Napoleonic Wars, which made the guinea’s value of 21 shillings appear awkward in comparison. A coinage reform led to the removal of the guinea from circulation and the reintroduction of The Sovereign, a gold coin that had a value of 20 shillings.

The reverse of the modern Sovereign featured a beautiful design by Italian engraver Benedetto Pistrucci that depicts St George slaying a dragon. Pistrucci’s design became synonymous with the coin and although it was removed from the reverse of the coin during the reign of George IV, it reappeared during Queen Victoria’s reign.

The Sovereign as a Circulating Coin

After its introduction to circulation in 1817, The Sovereign was heavily circulated and vast numbers of the coin were produced to meet demand. Throughout its time in circulation, it became known as the ‘chief coin of the world’, in part because of its global acceptability.

Following the Battle of Waterloo, the formal introduction of a gold standard in 1821 directly linked the value of gold coins such as The Sovereign to the value of gold, which resulted in the coin becoming a cornerstone of the United Kingdom’s monetary system.

The Branch Mints

As gold was discovered in different countries around the world, the decision was made to establish branch mints near these sources of gold to save the cost of transporting it directly to The Royal Mint in London.

Branch mints were established in Australia, South Africa, Canada and India, all of which produced Sovereigns at the height of its popularity, and some of The Sovereigns struck at these locations are the rarest Sovereigns found by collectors.

The First World War

The use of The Sovereign was forever changed by the outbreak of the First World War. Gold coins were needed to fund the war effort and following government propaganda, it became seen as unpatriotic to use gold as a means of payment in Britain.

The Sovereign was replaced with emergency issue £1 and 10-shilling banknotes, with Sovereigns and Half-Sovereigns only struck for the Bank of England to use for the war effort rather than for circulation.

The Sovereign ceased to be used as an official circulating coin beyond the early twentieth century. 

The Sovereign as a Collectable Coin

After these periods of conflict, The Sovereign found new life as both a bullion and collectable coin. It was produced for bullion purposes in the middle of the twentieth century and the regular production of Proof Sovereigns began in 1979.

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, The Sovereign was firmly established as a coin for collectors. A flourishing collector and bullion market has ensured that The Sovereign has continued to endure through to the modern day.

Commemorative Sovereigns continue to be struck today, with some coins produced to honour historical events, such as Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 and the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III in 2023.