 THE BRITISH GOLD SOVEREIGN:
A Brief HistoryThe gold sovereign was first introduced in 1489,
during the reign of King Henry VII, and marked the entry of a coin denomination that was
issued with a value of one pound sterling. The obverse (front) design showed King Henry
seated on a throne, and it is from this inclusion of the monarch, or sovereign, that the
new coin gained its name.
The
Modern Sovereign
As a direct result of the Industrial Revolution, a major change in British coinage was
brought about in 1816. In order to facilitate the implementation of powerful new steam
powered coining presses designed by Matthew Boulton and James Watt, the Royal Mint moved
from The Tower of London to new premises on nearby Tower Hill. A new reverse design
was also introduced featuring St. George slaying a dragon, designed by Benedetto
Pistrucci, a brilliant young Italian engraver.
Queen Victoria, the longest reigning British monarch, began her reign on the 20th of
June 1837. During her reign the following types of sovereign were to appear:
- Young head with shield reverse
- Young head with St. George and Dragon reverse
- The Jubilee coinage
- The Old head coinage
The Shieldback
The first of Victoria's sovereigns issued in 1838 was the 'young head',
more commonly known as the 'shieldback' sovereign. William Wyon engraved the obverse
design and J.B. Merlen the reverse and these were approved on the 26th of February 1838.
In the year 1863 another type of 'shieldback' sovereign appeared, much the same as the
first type except that a number appears on the reverse just above the rose. In the past
many theories have been advanced as to what this number means, the best known and accepted
being that the number was to enable a record to be kept of how many sovereigns that die
produced.
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OBVERSE |
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(Click
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Gold was first discovered in Australia
in 1851, which subsequently led to heavy demand being made on the current coinage of the
colonies. These demands could not be met and, on the 19th of December 1851, a petition by
the Council of New South Wales was addressed to Her Majesty requesting a branch of the
Royal Mint to be established at Sydney in order for people to convert their gold into
money. By order of Council dated the 19th of August 1853 a branch mint for Sydney was
authorized and this opened on the 14th of May 1855. The second branch mint was opened at
Melbourne on the 12th of June 1872. 'Shieldback' sovereigns minted in Sydney and Melbourne
each carry a small letter S or M above the rose, indicating where they were minted.
The St. George
A new sovereign was to appear, at the request of the Queen, in 1871. The reverse was
accepted as the return of St. George and the Dragon by Pistrucci. These coins, struck at
the Royal Mint, were first issued in 1871 and ran concurrently with the 'shieldback' until
1874. They were also struck at the Sydney and Melbourne mints until 1887.
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(Click
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