These Circulated Queen Elizabeth II Gold Sovereign Coins (Random Year) have been previously owned and/or circulated, therefore may have some minor scratches, nicks, scuff marks, or other surface marks. Secondary market Gold Sovereigns such as these contain .2354 troy ounces of fine gold and have been tested for gold content and purity. The date on these coins will be chosen at random from our available inventory, ranging from 1957 up to the current year. (Other dates/obverse portraits may be available in a separate listing.)

The Gold Sovereign coin from The Royal Mint offers a sense of luxury, history and symbolism that no other bullion coin can match. With its bold St George and the Dragon design, it has become an internationally recognized symbol of unrivaled accuracy, integrity and strength. Each Gold Sovereign is struck to the same precise standard as every Sovereign since 1817. A circulating coin, it was struck in 916.7 fine gold to withstand daily use and it is struck from that same durable, 22 karat gold today. Adorned by the renowned engraver Benedetto Pistrucci’s iconic Saint George and the dragon design, which has endured for 200 years.

Circulated Queen Elizabeth II Gold Sovereign Highlights:

• 1 of 4 Queen Elizabeth II portraits on obverse:
  • Elizabeth II Young Head 1957-1968
  • Elizabeth II Decimal Head 1974-1984
  • Elizabeth II Third Head 1985-1997
  • Elizabeth II Old Head 1998-current
• Classic St George and the dragon on reverse
• Each coin contains .2354 troy ounces of fine gold
• Random dates including older, hard to find years
• Protected in a FREE coin flip

One of the oldest coins still produced today, The British Sovereign was first struck over 500 years ago in 1489, named to honor the king and has been a symbol of strength and prestige ever since. During the nineteenth century, the gold Sovereign was a recognized currency in more than 20 countries.

The tale of Saint George and the Dragon was brought back to Western Europe by returning crusaders. It would serve as inspiration when Pistrucci was commissioned by The Royal Mint to work on new designs as a reform of the coinage was undertaken in 1816, the government intervening to re-stabilize the currency after the Napoleonic Wars.

Pistrucci’s interest in St George had been aroused by Lady Spencer, to whom he had been introduced by Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society and friend of William Wellesley Pole, then Master of the Mint. Her Ladyship showed Pistrucci a wax model of Saint George and asked him to make another ‘in the Greek style’. Lady Spencer had no time for a figure dressed in gothic armour, an appealing sentiment to the Italian, whose favorite maxim was said to be ‘study Greek originals day and night’. Pistrucci’s iconic design first appeared on The Sovereign in 1817, instantly distinctive it became a classic and still endures 200 years later.

The Sovereign has always been produced by The Royal Mint, an institution with more than 1,000 years of heritage and experience, and we continue to preserve the quality and accuracy of the coin to this day.

Each coin is packaged and shipped inside of a protective coin flip.