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Elizabeth II 1st Portrait

Although Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953 and sovereigns were minted for her by the Royal Mint, the first sovereigns were not issued for circulation until 1957. Sovereigns were made from .22 carat gold and in 1931 the value of gold was so high production was halted.

Production resumed in 1957 when overseas demand for gold bullion coins increased and as an attempt to thwart the rampant counterfeiting of the sovereign coin. From 1957 to 1968 the gold sovereign was struck each year, with the exception of 1960 and 1961.

The coins featured the first portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse side, and the St. George and Dragon design on the reverse.

The effigy of Queen Elizabeth II was designed by Mary Gillick, a sculptor from Nottingham. Gillick’s design was one of seventeen submitted for consideration and is the only British coin in Queen Elizabeth II’s reign to feature her uncrowned. Surrounding the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II is the phrase “Dei Gratia Regina” meaning “by the grace of god”. This portrait was used on all pre-decimal coins.

The St. George and Dragon design was originally engraved in 1817, by Benedetto Pistrucci, an employee of the Royal Mint. Pistrucci’s design is featured on all sovereigns circulated during the above time frame.

The 1957 coins have a distinguishing feature on the milled edge which contains 168 grains, as opposed to the 108 grains of all subsequent coins. The 1959 coin had the lowest mintage of all the circulation dates at 1,358,000 and 1958 had the highest at 8,700,000.

As these coins are .22 carat gold, they are fairly soft and very susceptible to wear. Fine scratches and nicks on the rim are the most common indications of wear. The coins can also have “bag marks” from being loosely stored in bank bags for transport between vaults.

There is also a First Type Elizabeth II gold sovereign issued for only during the year of her coronation in 1953. This sovereign also uses the same image as that on the First Portrait and although it is known that a small number of proof sovereigns were minted, they were never released.