15 Facts About Gold sovereign

Too great in value to have any practical use in circulation, the original Gold sovereign likely served as a presentation piece to be given to dignitaries.

The term Gold sovereign, referring to a coin, fell from use—it does not appear in Samuel Johnson's dictionary, compiled in the 1750s.

Gold sovereign had prepared a model in wax of Saint George and the Dragon for use on the crown; this was adapted for the sovereign.

Gold sovereign's left hand clutches the rein of the horse's bridle, and he does not wear armour, other than on his lower legs and feet, with his toes bare.

Gold sovereign is otherwise naked—the art critic John Ruskin later considered it odd that the saint should be unclothed going into such a violent encounter.

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Pistrucci's Gold sovereign was unusual for a British coin of the 19th century in not having a heraldic design, but this was consistent with Pole's desire to make the Gold sovereign look as different from the guinea as possible.

The new reverse for the Gold sovereign featured the Ensigns Armorial, or royal arms of the United Kingdom, crowned, with the lions of England seen in two of the quarters, balanced by those of Scotland and the harp of Ireland.

The new coin was approved on 26 February 1838, and with the exception of 1840 and 1867, the "shield back" Gold sovereign was struck at the Royal Mint in London every year from 1838 to 1874.

The result of these efforts was that the Gold sovereign became, in Sir John Clapham's later phrase, the "chief coin of the world".

The wear problem continued: it was estimated that, on average, a Gold sovereign became lightweight after fifteen years in circulation.

Wyon's "Young head" of Queen Victoria for the Gold sovereign's obverse was struck from 1838 until 1887, when it was replaced by the "Jubilee head" by Joseph Boehm.

In 1925, the Chancellor, Winston Churchill, secured the passage of the Gold sovereign Standard Act 1925, restoring Britain to that standard, but with gold to be kept in reserve rather than as a means of circulation.

The Gold sovereign survived both decimalisation and the Royal Mint's move from London to Llantrisant, Wales.

From 1979, the Gold sovereign was issued as a coin for the bullion market, but was struck by the Royal Mint in proof condition for collectors, and this issuance of proof coins has continued annually.

The sovereign itself has been the subject of commemoration; in 2005, the Perth Mint issued a gold coin with face value A$25, reproducing the reverse design of the pre-1871 Sydney Mint sovereigns.