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The half sovereign is a British gold coin denominated at one-half of a pound sterling. First issued in its present form in 1817, it has been struck by the Royal Mint in most years since 1980 as a collector's and bullion piece. The half sovereign was originally introduced in 1544 during the reign of Henry VIII but
The sovereign is a British gold coin with a nominal value of one pound sterling (£1) and contains 0.2354 troy ounces (113.0 gr; 7.32 g) of pure gold.Struck since 1817, it was originally a circulating coin that was accepted in Britain and elsewhere in the world; it is now a bullion coin and is sometimes mounted in jewellery.
Sovereign: £1 Gold bullion coins, available in four other sizes too: quarter sovereign (25p), half sovereign (£ 1 / 2 ), double sovereign (£2) and quintuple sovereign (£5). Two pounds: £2 Issued as a commemorative coin from 1986 and in general circulation from 1998 (dated from 1997). Britannia: various values
The vast majority of the coins from the United Kingdom were melted down by the Royal Mint after the King's abdication. Many pattern issues are retained by the Royal Mint Museum, with other surviving coins purchased by private collectors. [2] In 2020, an Edward VIII sovereign sold at auction for £1 million, the most for a British coin. [3]
The Royal Mint continues to produce sovereigns, as well as quarter sovereigns (introduced in 2009), half sovereigns, double sovereigns and quintuple sovereigns. Between 1987 and 2012 a series of bullion coins, the Britannia , was issued, containing 1 troy ounce (31.1 g), 1 ⁄ 2 ounce, 1 ⁄ 4 ounce and 1 ⁄ 10 ounce of fine gold at a ...
The Royal Mint realised there was a market for sovereign coins, and began to sell them to collectors at well over face or bullion value. [41] Beginning in 1980, five-pound gold coins were sold every year, except 1983, sometimes in a four-piece proof set with the half sovereign, sovereign and double sovereign, and sometimes sold individually.
Until decimalisation crowns (five shilling coins) were used for this purpose as they were the highest denomination of the time, but due to inflation this role has been transferred to higher value coins. Crowns, £5 coins and (until 1996) £2 coins are non-circulating, although they are still legal tender. These denominations are only used for ...
Half sovereigns were struck at Sydney in each year, and at Melbourne in 1893, 1896, 1899 and 1900. [49] In 1899, a third Australian branch mint began to strike sovereigns. This was the Perth Mint, inaugurated on 20 June 1899. [50] It struck sovereigns in 1899, 1900 and 1901 and half sovereigns in 1899 and 1900. [49] Queen Victoria died in ...