History of the Gold Sovereign

A Brief History of the Gold Sovereign
Our brief historical overview of gold sovereigns can be found in the following pages, which we present here in sequential order. Each page has a link at the end to the next "chapter".

The First Gold Coins
From Lydia (643 BC) to Roman Times.
Gold Pennies Florins Leopards Nobles Ryals & Angels
From the gold penny to the gold pound.
The First Sovereign
Issued by Henry VII in 1489.
Unites and Guineas
1604 James I to 1662 Charles II
The Modern Sovereign
From 1817 into the future.
Gold Gives Way to Paper
Circa 1914 to 1932.
Production Restarted
1957 Elizabeth II
Technical Specifications
Dimensions and weights of modern gold sovereigns.
Heads - Portraits on the Obverse
Photographs of the "head" (obverse) side of gold sovereigns.
Tails - Reverse Designs
Photographs of the reverse (tail) side of gold sovereigns.
Old Sovereigns
Dealers jargon had to change with time.
New Sovereigns
What's "new" today becomes history tomorrow.

Reverse of 1989 Sovereign
Issued to Commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the Original Gold Sovereign of Henry VII in 1489

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