1817 George 111 Gold Sovereign
This is the principal issue of the "present day" sovereign that is still delivered today.
Taking after a generous redesign of the Royal Mint by William Wellesley Pole, a scope of new gold coins were endorsed by the Prince Regent. The divisions were to be the ten-shilling, twenty-shilling, forty-shilling and five pound pieces. Or, on the other hand, as we probably am aware them today, the half sovereign, full sovereign, twofold sovereign and £5 crown. At twenty shillings, the full sovereign conveyed a face estimation of £1.
On the front-side face, George III wears a "crown" of tree leaves, thus it is depicted as a laureate head. The laureate is tied at the back with a strip and shaped into a bow. The now recognizable picture of St. George killing the winged serpent by Benedetto Pisctucci graces the invert. His initials can be found on the ground, simply under the broken shaft of his lance. Underneath it, on the clasp are the initials WWP for William Wellesley Pole, the Master of the Mint.
The first 'sovereign', first created in 1489 amid the rule of Henry VII was an alternate coin inside and out. At 15.55g, it was double the heaviness of the cutting edge sovereign and was stamped in 23ct gold rather than 22ct which what it is today.
Love looking at old coins,just think of all the hands it may have passed through. Thanks for sharing.
These coins could have helped change history you never know
Do you reckon these older Sovereigns actually got much in the way of pocket circulation? Considering the few who could even own one, they may have changed hands rarely and only in writing, being moved from vault to vault.
I'd love to see a documentary of a day in the life of an early Sovereign!
This is a classical and beautiful coin. Thanks for sharing. SOV.
What a beautiful coin and more significantly in the year that marks the 200th anniversary of the modern Sovereign!
Sov.
Yes please this is one i want more than any modern sovereign, Sov.