2016-10-28 Fri

On 26th October, the Royal Mint issued a special coin to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the gold Sovereign which has a 500-years-old history. This popular coin was issued for the first time in the year 1489 when King Henry VII was ruling. After 1604, during the reign of James I, the coins were discontinued. It was again issued during the Great Recoinage of 1816. Guineas of 21 Shillings were converted to Sovereigns of 20 Shillings which were struck until 1936. New standards were defined based on beauty and accuracy. They came to be known as “the chief coin of the world” during the 19th century. Over the years, its role has changed considerably but it is still world famous.

Benedetto Pistrucci’s neoclassical design of St. George and the Dragon was introduced for the first time in 1817 which stayed for many years. The reverse design of the new coin features Pistrucci’s original “garter” design. An inscription reads HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE which translates to “Evil unto him that thinks evil of it”, which is the motto of the British chivalric Order of the Garter.

A broken spear appears on St. George’s hand and the other half goes into the dragon. The spear was replaced with a sword later on. Instead of the designer’s initials BP, WWP, William Wesley Pole, master of the mint’s, initials were inscribed on garter’s buckle. The obverse features a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II, by Jody Clark.

¼ Sovereign, ½ Sovereign, Sovereign, Double Sovereign and £5 Gold coins were issued using .9167 with varying mintage limits.