Owner Comments:
Perth Mint Gold Sovereign - a "Pound Sterling." This equaled 20 silver shillings that were each about 89% of the actual silver content of a US quarter. Likewise, 20 US Quarters of the time got you a gold $5 half-eagle coin which had approximately the same actual gold content of this sovereign. Australia struck these at the Sydney Mint and Melbourne too, in much lower numbers. The Perth mintage this year is reported as 4,906,000.
Composition: Gold
Fineness: 0.9170
Weight: 7.9881g
AGW: 0.2355oz
Melt Value: $416.85 (2/18/2021)
Diameter: 21mm
Obverse: Head of King George V left
Obverse Designer: E. B. Mackennal
Reverse: St. George on horseback with sword slaying the dragon
Reverse Designer: Benedetto Pistrucci
From Perth, neither NGC nor PCGS have graded any other sovereigns higher than this coin in MS64. There are 10 including this coin in MS64 at NGC and 18 in MS64 at PCGS, including the one graded MS64+.
NGC and PCGS together have graded 115 of these from Perth.
The Perth Mint still sells these in extra fine to uncirculated condition, and they say:
"With just over 4 million produced, 1916 Perth Mint sovereigns are classified as ‘scarce’ and are extremely rare in the upper echelons of quality. Struck from 7.98 grams and measuring 21.5mm in diameter, they are among the last sovereigns considered true circulation coins. After this time the global economic crisis brought about by World War I sounded the death knell for gold as a circulating medium."