BRITISH SOVEREIGN

The gold coin of the United Kingdom, the sovereign has a nominal value of one pound sterling. In practice the sovereign is used as a bullion coin.

Named after the English gold sovereign, last minted in 1604, the name was revived with the Great Recoinage of 1816. Minting these new sovereigns began in 1817. The gold content was fixed by the coin act of 1816 at 0.235420 troy ounces (7.322381 g), nearly equivalent to 113 grains. This weight has remained practically constant to the present day.

Sovereigns were minted in the United Kingdom from 1817 to 1917, in 1925, and from 1957. Australia, India, Canada, and South Africa all occasionally minted the coins.

The Royal Mint released a new coin in the sovereign series, the quarter-sovereign in 2009. This sovereign coin is similar in some ways to the original gold English crown of the rose.