Sovereigns
were produced in large quantities until World War I, at which time
the UK came off the gold standard. From then until 1932, sovereigns
were produced only at branch mints at Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Bombay,
Ottawa, and Pretoria (except for some in 1925 produced in London as
part of Winston Churchill's ill-fated attempt to return the UK to
the gold standard). The last regular issue was in 1932 (at Pretoria).
Production resumed in 1957, ostensibly to prevent the coin being counterfeited
in Beirut and Italy. Subsequent publication of treasury papers appear
to indicate that sovereigns were widely used in pursuance of British
foreign policy in the Middle East, and it was felt that the coin could
not be allowed to fall into disrepute, as many individuals were receiving
payments in the form of sovereigns for services rendered to the British
government.
Sovereigns were produced most years as bullion until 1982. From there
to 1999, proof coinage only versions were produced, but since 2000,
bullion sovereigns have been minted. Modern sovereigns are minted
at the Royal Mint in Pontyclun, Mid-Glamorgan, Wales. The coins are
produced in the precious metal unit which is sealed off from the rest
of the Mint, the Mint itself being protected by Ministry of Defence
police. Employees are not allowed to use any coins within the Mint
- plastic tokens replacing coin of the realm for the staff canteen.
Sovereigns usually have a higher premium to the price of gold than
some other coins, like the Krugerrand. This is due to a number of
factors: the higher unit cost of the Sovereign (at under one-quarter
of an ounce); the higher demand for the Sovereign from numismatists
(compared to the Krugerrand which is not sought-after numismatically);
and the higher costs of identifying and stocking a numismatic coin.
For other ways to invest in gold, see gold as an investment.
Current sovereigns (2000 onwards) are struck in a 22 carat (92%) gold
alloy, also known as Crown Gold, which contains 11/12 gold and 1/12
copper. The only time there has been a deviation from this composition
was in the production of early Australian sovereigns, which used silver
as part of the alloy and in London sovereigns dated 1887, when an
additional 1.25% silver was added in order to make the blanks softer
for new Joseph Boehm effigy of Queen Victoria. Consequently, 1887
London Mint sovereigns are more yellow in appearance than other London
produced sovereigns. This additional silver affected the amount of
copper in the coin, not, of course, its gold content. (Nineteenth
century techniques of refining were not as advanced as today, and
nineteenth century sovereigns became more accurate in terms of their
gold weight as silver - which is often naturally combined with gold
- was removed as an impurity from the "pure" gold used.
Such minor inconsistencies would not affect either their numismatic
or bullion value).
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