Gold sovereign coins were first minted in 1949 at the behest of King Henry VII of England, and though theyve gone through numerous of changes, they are still being minted today. The original coins were named sovereign because of their impressive size and because an image of the King seated on a throne was emblazoned on the obverse side of the coin. On the reverse side is the official British coat of arms displayed on a shield surrounded by Tudor roses.
During Victorian times, it was common practice for the Bank of England to recall scuffed and worn sovereigns and recoin them. This means that while over one billion sovereigns have been minted over the years, a large number of these coins contain several layers of gold as they were re-coined several times over their lifetimes.
Gold sovereign coins as we know them today were first issued in 1817 and are 22-karat bullion coins. They were minted in large numbers until World War I, when Britain no longer adhered to the gold standard. Predominantly produced as bullion coins until 1982, British gold sovereign coins are currently minted as both bullion and proof coins, which are collectors items created to higher standard with a greater gold content than bullion coins.
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