1 Sovereign Gold

Sovereign

Gold sovereign coins from the British Royal Mint have been struck every year since 650 C.E. At that time there were several mints across the country. Around 1540, the remaining mints closed and the Royal. 1857-1870 Gold One Sovereign 'Sovereign' (VICTORIA D: G: BRITANNIAR: REG: F: D: 1865 SYDNEY MINT AUSTRALIA ONE SOVEREIGN) KM# 4 coin and its complete list of years and varieties with prices and values. Main Sizes of the British Gold Sovereign Coins. British Sovereign Gold Coins were all produced in 0.2354 oz. (the equivalent of 113 grains) weight options as fixed in the Coin Act of 1816. However, during that time, these British Gold Coins were also manufactured in Half Sovereigns of 0.1177 oz. Modern Gold Sovereigns are available also in 1.

The Chinese Gold Panda gold coin is an outlier to the.9999 and full-troy-ounce rule of the above coins. Weighing in at 30 grams (0.9645 troy oz.) and.999 purity, Gold Pandas are legal tender (in Chinese yuan) with a face value of ¥500.00. Whereas most sovereign gold coins retain a standard design year after year, the Gold Panda does not. You might receive Gold Sovereigns that were minted during the reign of Victoria, Edward or George or gold coins bearing the portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II. However, all our value Sovereigns are in good to fair condition and you're guaranteed 7.3200 grams of gold in each coin.

The secret of the gold sovereign hides behind centuries of history: the golden sovereign has the heritage of a great nation and the size of the greatest empire in the world. These pieces have been produced in many parts of the world, often travelling around the world and representing the crown.

They were the seal of the main commercial power of the world until the beginning of the 20th century. Filled with history and emotions, the Gold Sovereign is an option of choice for investors and collectors of coins. The sovereign is a gold coin from the United Kingdom that had the value of one pound sterling.

It was used as a legal tender from 1817, but presently it is just a bullion coin that is sometimes mounted in jewellery.

  • The coin was first designed during King Henry VII of England. The first design has the then ruler of Britain face on one side, and the reverse has the royal coat of arms on a shield surrounded by a Tudor double rose.
  • Another design of the coin includes the initials of the designer, Benedetto Pistrucci and a design of Saint George slaying a dragon on the other side. This design was done during the time of William IV, Victoria, George IV and Elizabeth II.

The name gold sovereign comes from the fact that the coin has a royal portrait on the face. Initially, when the coin was minted, it was hardly used because most people were using banknotes. However, when the banknotes were limited by law, the coin became popular. It not only became a popular circulating coin, but it was also recognized in the international market as a legal tender. The gold sovereign got its name from the royal household of Britain.

Gold Sovereigns were used not only in Britain

These gold coins were not only used in Britain as it spread to almost all part of the world. As mentioned earlier, it became recognised internationally, and it became a predominant means of monetary exchange from 1818 to the early 1900s. During this period, as the British Empire expanded, the mint factories that produced these coins were opened in different parts of the world.

Cities like:

  • Pretoria,
  • Bombay,
  • Ottawa

and some other places that were under the British rule were also producing the sovereign coin. This was done to make sure there is enough supply of the British gold sovereign available for trade.

The original British gold sovereigns were 23-carat gold and weighed 240 grains. At the time of King Henry VIII, the purity of the coin was reduced to 22 carats of gold, which in both cases is the standard gold coin of the United States and the United Kingdom. This gold-plated alloy comprises 22 parts of gold and two parts of copper. The alloy had not changed since then, except in 1887, when silver was used instead of copper in the mix.

In the course of history, the weight of the British sovereign in gold was reduced several times until 1816. The Great Law of Recovery established the weight of the British gold sovereign at exactly 113 grains, where it stayed for almost two centuries.

Over a period of a little over two hundred years, from 1604 to 1817, the British gold sovereign was removed from production and replaced by a series of coins, notably Unites, Laurels and Broads, and finally Guinea. Although more than a billion gold coins have been forged throughout history, this number is not a true record of the availability of these coins, as it was common for Victorian banks to withdraw the deteriorated coins from circulation to be melted and rebuilt. In addition to this practice, it was common for foreign governments to cast coins and convert them into gold bars.

Because of these practices, the true representation of British gold sovereigns cannot be determined, as the modern gold British sovereigns could consist of gold from ruined pieces.

Modern British gold sovereigns have been minted since 2000 only at the Royal Mint of Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales. These parts are minted under the watchful supervision of the Department of Defense police in a sealed area of ​​the Mint.

What are the Gold Sovereigns worth today and what does it depend on?

Currently, the gold sovereign value depends on the weight. Some people that are fortunate to inherit a large amount of this bullion coin may not know the actual value of a gold sovereign. The sovereign coin price as said earlier depends on the weight because as explained in previous paragraphs, the size of the gold was reduced from period to period.

If you are looking for how much are gold sovereigns worth today, you are at the right place to get the answer because this article will give you the breakdown of sovereign coin price and also serve as a gold sovereign price guide. However, before we talk about the price, you should know that gold sovereign coin is so named because it is made of gold. Although it is not entirely gold, which is why there are different prices; you should be aware of the fact that irrespective of the type, every gold sovereign coin has quite a worth.

As the price of gold rises, so does a proportional increase in the value of a gold sovereign. Gold sovereigns can be found in several denominations, and each comes with a relative nominal value.

They are usually identified with different names, and they include:

  • The five sovereign or £5 gold crown, this weights 39.96, and the gold content of the coin is 36.609. It is sold at the rate of £1,124.13
  • The double sovereign or £2 weights 15.99; the gold content is 14.674. It is sold at the rate of £449.96
  • The full sovereign is weighing 7.99 with a gold content of 7.314. It is sold at the rate of £224.68
  • The half sovereign is weighing 3.99 with a gold content of 3.656. It is sold at the rate of £112.34
  • The smallest size is the quarter sovereign that weighs 2 and has a gold content of 1.832. It is sold at the rate of £56.28

These values indicate the different amount of gold used in minting these coins relative to other materials.

The fact that sovereigns are considered semi-numismatic coins (an interesting point for coin collectors) of course means that certain sovereigns of a given year are worth even more than their value in precious metals. The demand of these sovereigns is greatly increased by certain factors such as the scarcity, specific design or by the sovereign or mint branch in which they were produced.

Older sovereign coins tend to earn more value in good condition and thus tend to receive a premium from collectors. Collections can also be done in sets, for example by date, ruler, size or country of origin. Since sovereigns were invented for a long time in different places, the anomalies are numerous, an example of which includes identifying letters for several mints, coins with imperfections, and unique design. While this is of particular interest to collectors of some sovereigns, it should be borne in mind that this is not necessarily more valuable in itself, since a precious metals dealer always values a precious metal coin for his pure metal content.

Where to sell your Gold Sovereigns?

The information provided above has answered the question of how much gold sovereigns are worth today, and it has also thrown more light on gold sovereign value. However, this value may not be absolute as it depends on where you are going to buy or sell your gold sovereign. Nevertheless, these values will serve as a guide on how much a gold sovereign is worth.

If you have a gold sovereign, and you’re considering selling it, you need to find a place where you will get maximum value for it without getting cheated because you can actually get shortchanged if you don’t know how to go about it.

Spot4coins.com is a platform where you can trade your coins without getting worried about being scammed, and of course, you will also get the best value on your gold sovereign. See it for yourself by contacting us!

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One of the most searched questions about the gold Sovereign has to be ‘How much is my gold Sovereign worth?‘ Do a search on Google and you’ll find the question asked on dozens of sites. Of course, if you find the question answered and a value given, whilst it was probably correct at the time of writing, it’s unlikely to be still correct weeks, months or years later.

  • A bullion gold Sovereign is currently worth £ 312.58 ($ 432.20 / € 356.71 ).
  • The bullion value of a gold Sovereign is calculated at 7.31 x the price per gram of the prevailing gold price. It can also be calculated at 0.235 x the gold price per troy ounce.

Our article Gold Sovereign Value by Currency lists the current bullion value of gold Sovereigns in 13 currencies.

Bullion value vs numismatic value

Answering the question is however not quite so straightforward as it seems. On a simple level, many Sovereigns are worth their bullion value. However, other Sovereigns have a higher, numismatic value. The value of a Sovereign is dependent on a number of factors.

  • The year it was minted
  • Which branch mint produced it
  • The total number of Sovereigns produced at that mint for that year or the total number remaining
  • Whether it was a bullion or proof issue coin
  • The condition of the coin.

To give you an example, there are 7 versions of the 1887 Sovereign:

So, the Melbourne mint, young head shield Sovereign is far more scarce than a Melbourne mint, young head St. George Sovereign. Referring to the 2014 edition of ‘Coins of England’ by Spink, a valuation of £900 is given for the former in ‘fine’ condition (the lowest grade of interest to collectors). Compare this to the latter, being a far more common example, its value is in its gold content (bullion value).

Mintage numbers

Simply looking at the mintage number for a particular Sovereign issue is not necessarily an accurate indication as to its scarcity. Many Sovereigns were shipped overseas to settle government debt. These coins would almost certainly have been melted down on arrival to their destination, thus increasing scarcity. Although over a million 1917 London mint Sovereigns were originally produced, it’s now an exceptionally hard coin to find, so be prepared to pay a four or five-figure sum if you want one!

Mintage Errors

It’s always worth keeping a sharp eye out for Sovereigns that occasionally appear with errors in the strike. As the demand for Sovereigns increased around 1843, more dies were having to be produced. Quality control was not quite a tight as it could have been and as a result, errors started to appear. So, if you come across an 1844 Sovereign with the first ‘4’ upside-down, it’s worth around double a standard example from the same year!

Calculating how much a gold Sovereign is worth

Putting the numismatic value to one side, at very minimum, a gold Sovereign is worth its weight in gold, otherwise referred to as its bullion value. If it’s in relatively unworn condition, it should still weigh 7.98g or thereabouts. A Sovereign is minted in 22ct gold, which means it contains 91.67% pure gold (7.31g by mass). To work out the bullion value of a Sovereign, we need to do some simple calculations. Pure gold is currently trading at around £ 1,329.05 / troy ounce ($ 1,837.59 / € 1,516.61 ).

There are 31.103 grams in a troy ounce, so to convert troy ounces to grams, we need to divide by 31.103. Therefore, the value of 1 gram of pure gold is £ 42.73 / g ($ 59.08 / € 48.76 ).

We already know that a Sovereign contains 7.31g, therefore the bullion value of a gold Sovereign is currently 7.31 x 42.73 = £ 312.58 ($ 471.46 / € 389.10 ).

Sell your gold Sovereign

If you’re considering selling a gold Sovereign, we will be more than happy to purchase it from you. Please see our selling gold Sovereigns page for more information. If you own a gold Sovereign and want to get an idea as to how rare it is, try out our easy-to-use wizard. Simply enter its year in the box at the top of this page to get started.Notes:

  1. For the purposes of this article, we update the the gold price twice a day, around 11.00am and 3.30pm GMT.
  2. If you work these figures out manually, it’s likely your answer will differ by a few pence. It’s simply down to rounding and the number of decimal places our system works to.

See our article Gold Sovereign Value by Currency for up-to-date bullion valuations in 13 currencies.

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