George III Gold Sovereigns
George III Gold Sovereigns
King George III gold sovereigns coin were circulated in England from 1817 to 1820.
Their creation in 1817 marks the birth of the modern sovereign as it represents the first time these gold coins were produced in over two hundred years. Wellesley Pole, the Master of Mint, selected a talented young Italian by the name of Benedetto Pistrucci to do the engraving. It was Pistrucci’s suggestion that the coin’s reverse side should contain a picture of Saint George, the Patron Saint of England, slaying a dragon while on horseback.
A garter, inscribed with the words “Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense”, encircles the image along its perimeter. It is the motto of the Order of the Garter and it means “evil to him who thinks evil” in Old French.
The theme of Saint George and the dragon was designed to remind the world of Britain's victory over Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. To this day, it is still the picture used for the reverse side of all gold sovereign coins.
For this particular coin, the obverse surface contains a side view portrait of King George III with a laurel wreath in his hair. In a circle around him are the words “Georgius III D:G: Britanniar: Rex: F:D”, with the year of production on the bottom.
Spotting Wear and Tear on George III Gold Sovereigns
The greatest areas of wear and strike on the George III gold sovereigns occur in the center of the image, where the vertical protrusion is greatest and along the perimeter, where it may have encountered friction with a flat surface like a table. This means both of the inscriptions are susceptible, as well as King George’s head on the obverse side and the upper body of Saint George and the horse on the reverse.
Which are the Rarest George III Sovereigns?
The rarest King George III gold sovereign coins are those from 1819, when only 3,574 bullions were minted, compared to over two million in each of the other three years. Nonetheless, due to their age and the amount of gold they contain (almost a quarter troy once in each), all of them have remained valuable throughout the years and as such they can be expensive to obtain, especially those in excellent condition.
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