Sovereign coin designs

Gold Sovereigns were first introduced in 1817, towards the end of King George III’s reign. There was only one design
– a right-facing portrait of the King on the front, and the thick-rimmed St George and the Dragon design on the back.

The coin bears the French ’HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE’, which translates as “Evil unto him who thinks evil of it”.

The George IV gold Sovereign coins ditched the thicker border in favour of larger portraits of
both the King himself on the obverse, and St George on the reverse. George’s portrait is
facing to the left, to differ from his predecessor, and Pistrucci’s St George was updated to
now wield a sword.

There are two versions of George IV gold Sovereigns:
Laureate Head (wreath) – 1821 to 1825
Bare Head – 1825 to 1830

If you’re interested in George IV, why not take a look at a King George crown.

Like George IV before him, King William had two gold Sovereigns produced during his reign. These were
only fractionally different, sporting two different busts of the King. The one has a more furrowed expression
and greater detail to the King’s hair, while the other portrays the King as more peaceful.

An unknown number of proof Sovereigns were commissioned for minting in 1830, but it’s not known
how few of these were made. The coin is incredibly rare, and only a couple have ever been auctioned.

Queen Victoria was the first monarch to have more than two design variations of gold Sovereigns during her reign, reaching a grand total of four.

The youngest of the three portraits, this gold Sovereign featured Queen Victoria on the obverse and an updated version of Merlen’s Royal Arms shield on the reverse.

Production was chiefly in London, though later versions were also made in Sydney and in Melbourne. Production of this coin ended before the Perth mint opened.

No coins were made outside of London until 1871.

Years not produced: 1840, 1867, 1876, 1875-1887 (London)

Young Head Victoria with the St George reverse (1871 – 1887)

In 1871 the Royal Mint changed from using the shield on the gold Sovereigns and back to the classic St George and the Dragon reverse design.

Like the other young head gold coin, production took place in London, Melbourne and Sydney.

Jubilee Head Victoria (1887 – 1893)

Following Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, the Royal Mint ceased production of gold Sovereigns using her young portrait, instead updating the coins to use an image that closer reflected the monarch’s true age.

The jubilee portrait is one of the most recognisable images of Queen Victoria and was designed by medallist and sculptor Joseph Edgar Boehm.

Years not produced: 1893 (London)

Old Head Victoria (1893 – 1901)

The final portrait of Queen Victoria is dubbed the ‘Old Head’. The image, designed by Thomas Brock, shows a more mature Queen and reflected her position as a grandmother and – at the time – the longest serving monarch in British history.

Victoria is at a slightly different angle compared to typical coin profiles. She is wearing a tiara, perhaps that designed by Prince Albert, her late husband, and has a widow’s veil – a style of dress she pursued after Albert’s passing and until her own death.

Years not produced: 1897 (London), 1893-1898 (Perth)

Only one design of gold Sovereign was produced by the Royal Mint for King Edward VII. This coin was the classic side portrait bust of the King, with texture detail marking his hair, beard, and moustache.

The inscription around the Sovereign reads EDWARDVS VII D: G: BRITT: OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP.

A matte edition proof Sovereign of Edward VII was made in 1902 as part of specimen sets.

Years not produced: 1902-1907 (Canada)

Production of gold Sovereigns during the reign of King George V was mixed due to the First World War and the prospect of the second by the end of his reign.

Gold Sovereigns were produced in London, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Ottawa, Bombay, and Pretoria as the British Empire peaked in terms of global reach.

Years not produced: 1918-1920, 1922-1924, 1926-1936 (London), 1927-1936 (Sydney),
1932-1936 (Melbourne), 1912, 1915, 1920-1936 (Canada), 1925, 1932-1936 (Perth),
1911-1922 & 1933-1936 (South Africa). Sovereigns in Bombay, India were only produced in 1918.

Only TWO sovereigns were made during Edward VIII’s brief reign. These were both proof coins, and intended as forerunners to the bullion Sovereign production due to start on January 1st 1937.

The two coins both state 1937 as the year of their production, despite being made in 1936. Edward also broke tradition by facing the same way as his father, George V, for his portrait. This, he said, was to use his "good side"
for the coin depictions, and captured his classic side parting hairstyle.

One of the coins sold at auction in 2014 for £516,000 - a record for a British coin.

No sovereigns were made during George VI’s reign for individual sale, however 5,501 proof versions were made
in Sovereign and Double Sovereign sizes as part of a four-coin gold proof set (also known as a specimen set)
released to mark George's coronation.

The only other Gold Sovereigns handled by the Royal Mint during George's reign were restrikes of 1925 Sovereigns. 886,000 of these coins - previously believed to be scarce - were restruck between 1949 and 1952.

View our Quintuple Sovereign bearing King George VI's portrait.

For the first few years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, the Royal Mint did not produce any gold Sovereigns – continuing its halted production post-war. Demand from the Middle East and other nations that still used gold Sovereigns forced the Mint’s hand and, in 1957, production restarted in London, before migrating to Wales in the mid-1970s.

All gold Sovereigns bearing Elizabeth’s head on the obverse feature Pistrucci’s St George and the Dragon on the reverse unless a commemorative edition.

First Portrait: Young Elizabeth (1957 – 1970)

The first portrait of Elizabeth II was the only one that was produced before the United Kingdom adopted decimalisation. The Queen’s first coin was produced one year after her coronation, age 26, and was sculpted by
Mary Gillick, but the design never made it onto a gold Sovereign until their recommission in 1957.

In this portrait, the young Queen is wearing the Laureate crown or the Laurel wreath. The latin accompanying the Queen’s portrait is DEI GRATIA REGINA F.D., which translates as ‘By the Grace of God, Queen’ and ‘Defender of the Faith’.

Coins from 1957 specifically differ from other young Elizabeth Sovereign coins as they had a finer milled edge than
other, later Sovereigns. Production was in London.

Years not produced: 1960-1961, 1969-1970

Second Portrait: Decimal Elizabeth (1974 – 1984)

The Queen’s second portrait was introduced on 5p and 10p coins as a test from 1968, and then introduced across
the full range of Royal Mint coins in 1970-71 with decimalisation.

Arnold Machin, the sculptor and coin specialist, was chosen to design the second portrait of Queen Elizabeth.
She wears the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara (a wedding gift from her grandmother), and the same latin
appears as on the first Sovereign.

Production was mostly in London, before the Royal Mint moved to a larger facility in South Wales during the 1970s.

Years not produced: 1970-1973, 1975, 1977, 1983-1984 (Bullion)

View the 1989 special edition Sovereign reverse

Third Portrait: PROOF ONLY (1985 – 1997)

Gold Sovereigns between 1985 and 1997 were issued by the Royal Mint in proof finish only. This format is complete with box and Certificate of Authentication but meant an additional premium for buyers compared to the bullion coins.

The design of the middle-aged Queen was by Raphael Maklouf and sees the monarch wearing the King George IV State Diadem (worn during the annual State Opening of Parliament) and Diamond Jubilee drop pearl earrings.

As mentioned earlier on this page, there was a 1989 special edition Gold Sovereign issued, marking 500 years since the first ever Sovereign was produced by The Royal Mint. This coin bears the Tudor rose on the reverse and Queen Elizabeth on the obverse.

Fourth Portrait (1998 – 2014)

The fourth portrait of Queen Elizabeth is probably the most recognised of all images of the Queen. Designed by Ian Rank-Broadley, the coin sports a more mature monarch and reflects her status as a grandmother, as well as a long-reigning royal. The portrait is also slightly larger than previous iterations – a deliberate move by the artist as a nod to her significance in British culture.

The coins were only available in proof finish until 2000 and, at the change of the millennium, the Royal Mint resumed production of uncirculated bullion gold Sovereigns.

View the 2002 special edition Sovereign reverse.

View the 2005 special edition Sovereign reverse.

View the 2012 special edition Sovereign reverse.

Fifth Portrait (2015 – 2022)

The fifth and likely final portrait sovereign design of Queen Elizabeth II was debuted in 2015, having been designed by the Royal Mint’s own engraver Jody Clark. This is the first time the Mint has had one of its own employees design a sovereign portrait for a monarch.

Like the fourth portrait borrowed elements from the decimal head, the fifth portrait borrows from the third; the King George IV State Diadem and Diamond Jubilee drop pearl earrings make a return in Clark’s design. The milled edge and lettering are very crisp to look at, showing the progress in modern minting technology.

Following the passing of Elizabeth II, Charles III became king in 2022. A new design by Martin Jennings was produced for all coinage featuring King Charles III. This design debuted on the Sovereign coins in 2022 with the Memorial Sovereign.

The design features King Charles III looking left, following the tradition where each subsequent monarch faces in the opposite direction to their predecessor.