.2354 oz Gold Old British Gold Sovereigns

Description

.2354 oz Gold Old British Gold Sovereigns

One of the oldest coins still produced today, The Sovereign was first struck over 500 years ago in 1489, it was named to honor the king and has been a symbol of strength and prestige ever since. During the nineteenth century, the gold Sovereign was a recognized currency in more than 20 countries.

The Sovereign offers a sense of luxury, history and symbolism that no other coin can match. It has become an internationally recognized symbol of unrivaled accuracy, integrity and strength. A circulating coin, it was struck in 916.7 fine gold to withstand daily use and it is struck from that same durable gold today. Adorned by the renowned engraver Benedetto Pistrucci’s iconic Saint George and the dragon design, which has endured for 200 years.

The tale of Saint George and the Dragon was brought back to Western Europe by returning crusaders. It would serve as inspiration when Pistrucci was commissioned by The Royal Mint to work on new designs as a reform of the coinage was undertaken in 1816, the government intervening to re-stabilize the currency after the Napoleonic Wars.

Pistrucci’s interest in St George had been aroused by Lady Spencer, to whom he had been introduced by Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society and friend of William Wellesley Pole, then Master of the Mint. Her Ladyship showed Pistrucci a wax model of Saint George and asked him to make another ‘in the Greek style’. Lady Spencer had no time for a figure dressed in Gothic armor, an appealing sentiment to the Italian, whose favorite maxim was said to be ‘study Greek originals day and night’. Pistrucci’s iconic design first appeared on The Sovereign in 1817, instantly distinctive it became a classic and still endures 200 years later.

The Sovereign has always been produced by The Royal Mint, an institution with more than 1,000 years of heritage and experience, and we continue to preserve the quality and accuracy of the coin to this day.

The Sovereign is the flagship coin of The Royal Mint and one of the most tightly specified coin in the world. The weight and quality of its 22 carat gold is verified at the Trial of the Pyx, an exacting independent trial dating back to at least 1282, and is guaranteed to five decimal places by the 1971 Coinage Act. The exceptional purity of The Sovereign’s 916.7 gold means it is CGT exempt in the United Kingdom and VAT free in the UK and European Community. The Sovereign can be purchased in tubes of 25 coins or individually in single credit card sized packaging with a protective blister.

Coin Specifications:
Weight: 7.988 g
Pure gold content: 0.2354 Troy oz
Fineness: 0.9167
Dimensions: 22.05 mm
Alloy: 22 carat gold
Reverse Designer: Benedetto Pistrucci
Obverse Designer: Jody Clark