An 1817 British Gold Sovereign, an historic coin

BillJones

The Napoleonic Wars (mid 1790s until 1815) caused a great monetary upheaval in England. During the war, much of the regular coinage was hoarded, and many varieties of tokens took their place. At the end of the war period, the British overhauled their coinage system, which was long overdue.

In 1816 the weight of the silver coinage was reduced to the point where it was “token coinage.” By that, it met that all of the coins melted for less than their face value. That move kept coins in circulation. In the past, coins were systematically removed from circulation whenever the price of silver rose to the point where melting them was profitable.

In 1817, the British introduced the gold sovereign, which had an official value of 20 shillings. It replaced the guinea which had had a value of 21 shillings. Sovereign became a widely used, popular gold coin that continues to be produced to the present day.

Here is a recent acquisition, an 1817, George III sovereign. This is a popular and scarce collectors coin. It not only marked the introduction of new British denomination but also the introduction of a classic design, St. George slaying the dragon by Benedetto Pistrucci. This design appeared on many British silver and gold coins for the next century, and still appears on many modern British gold coins.