Set Description
GREAT BRITAIN, KING WILLIAM IV GOLD SOVEREIGNS 1831-1837, CIRCULATION ISSUES
The GOLD SOVEREIGN is one of Britain's famous coins. A coin full of history and emotional attachment which has become an icon of Britain itself. Synonymous with wealth and reliability the sovereign has played an important part in the nation's, and the world's history. The sovereign flourished alongside Britain's growing empire to become a coin of international status. Its fineness and accuracy is amongst the highest standards of any coins throughout the world.
Highly prized for its numismatic value, the sovereign is the favourite of coin collectors the world over.
The Royal Mint struck its first gold sovereign in 1489 during the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509). This coin became known as a "sovereign" because the obverse design depicted the King enthroned in regal splendour. It was the first gold coin produced with a value of one pound or twenty shillings, it was the largest coin yet issued in England and also the most beautiful. The modern sovereign, smaller and featuring on the obverse the monarch's head and on the reverse the classic St. George and the dragon design by Benedetto Pistrucci, was introduced in 1817, during the reign of King George III (1760-1820), taking the form in which we know it today. The sovereign with the value of one pound or twenty shillings, was to replace the guinea, a coin introduced early in the reign of Charles II. As with the guinea the sovereign was struck in 22 carat gold. It has a diameter of 22 mm and a weight 7.988 g. Until the First World War, when it was superseded by paper money, the sovereign remained an every day coin used for every day commerce.
Gold sovereigns continued to be issued by the Royal Mint in London for the reigns of King George IV (1821-1830), King William IV (1831-1837), Queen Victoria (1838-1901), King Edward VII (1902-1910), and King George V (1911-1936).
After 1925 currency gold sovereigns were not issued by the Royal Mint until 1957 when the first currency sovereign was struck during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (1952-). Today the gold sovereign is still struck by the Royal Mint though as a collectors item.
Some 500 million sovereigns were struck by the Royal Mint but the bulk have been melted down and either recoined or converted into bullion bars. Approximately ten million sovereigns believed to exist, many in worn condition. Many others, exported to India and the Middle East, were pierced for bridal dowries. Elsewhere countless sovereigns have been mounted or converted into jewellery. Thus the number of sovereigns in collectable grades is possibly fewer than five million.
To put together a representative collection of sovereigns from 1817 to the present day, is a very difficult but challenging goal.
KING WILLIAM IV
The Reign of King William IV (House of Hanover) 1830-1837.
Born: 21 August 1765.
Accession: 26 June 1830.
Married: Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg and Meiningen, 11 July 1818 after first meeting a week before.
A double wedding with his brother, Prince Edward the Duke of Kent.
Coronation: Thursday, 8 September 1831.
Children: two daughters who both died in childhood, ten illegitimate children previously.
Died: 20 June 1837, aged 71.
KING WILLIAM IV, GOLD SOVEREIGNS 1831-1837, CIRCULATION ISSUES
King William IV succeeded his brother King George IV on 26 June 1830. During his reign two types of sovereigns have been recognised, the "First bust" and the "Second bust" and there are certain features that distinguish the difference between the two busts. The "First bust" sovereign was introduced in 1831 and also appeared in 1832. The "Second bust" was introduced in 1832 and further issued for every year, except 1834, up to and including 1837.
In general, sovereigns of King William seldom appear either in low or high grade. The 1831 sovereign is the rarest date of the series (R2/R5), although the 1836 variety with additional N above ANNO is also a rare date (R3). The rest are all rated scarce.
This set contains the first and the last issues of King William's gold sovereigns.