Our latest release; the 2023 King Charles III Greatest Monarchs Gold Sovereign Range, celebrates the regnal milestones of some of Britain’s greatest monarchs. For our new king, these gold sovereign coins feature a portrait King Charles III, paying tribute to some of the greatest British monarchs who have gone before him.
Not only that, the coins in this range all have features that will give them great appeal to those interested in the history of Britain, and also to sovereign collectors the world over. In this blog, we will be dissecting the coin designs of this remarkable range…
The One-Eighth Sovereign:
The first denomination in this range is the one-eighth sovereign. This coin is a special coin indeed, as it is a tribute to possibly our greatest ever monarch, Queen Elizabeth II and celebrates her Platinum Jubilee. It is also the first one-eighth sovereign in King Charles III’s reign, and we believe it will retain a special place in the history of his coinage.
The reverse design is also based on The Queen’s personal flag which features the ‘Queen Elizabeth’ Rose. The Queen adopted this flag in 1961, which consists of a square royal blue flag, bearing a ring of stemmed roses, with a crowned initial ‘E’ placed within, all in gold. The ‘Queen Elizabeth’ Rose was bred in the United States in 1954 by Dr Walter Lammerts. This pink Grandiflora rose cultivar is very popular worldwide and has won multiple awards, including ‘World’s Favourite Rose’ in 1979.
The Quarter Sovereign:
The next denomination; the quarter sovereign, celebrates the 1935 Silver Jubilee of King George V. This jubilee came after the end of the gold standard, and so no sovereigns were minted, making this the first sovereign coin to celebrate this jubilee. What is also incredible is that during George V’s reign, this coin was not minted, so therefore this is the first quarter sovereign to feature this monarch’s portrait.
The reverse design features details from the tuning dial of a 1930s radio, representing George V’s first ever Christmas radio broadcast in 1932. This was the beginning of a royal tradition that has been followed by every monarch ever since. Also on this sovereign are star-shaped glyphs that represent Christmas.
The Half Sovereign:
Next up, we have the half sovereign, which celebrates the 1809 Golden Jubilee of King George III. This particular jubilee was not celebrated with the issue of any coins at all, which means that this is the first gold coin, and sovereign coin, to celebrate this jubilee. What is also incredible about the sovereign is that it features Britain’s longest-reigning king, and Britain’s current reigning king, together on the one coin.
Featuring on the reverse of this coin is a map of the South Pacific by Captain James Cook. This map was produced in 1769 as part of the expedition to study the transit of Venus across the sun, which helped to determine the distance of the Earth from the Sun. Also on the design are glyphs that represent the sun (top of the coin) and the record of the transit of Venus (bottom of the coin).
The Sovereign:
Finally, the sovereign celebrates the 1897 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Despite being the first Diamond Jubilee in our history, this jubilee was not celebrated with the issue of any coins at all! This means that this is the first sovereign coin to celebrate this jubilee. Remarkably, this sovereign coin also features one of Britain’s longest reigning monarchs with Britain’s current monarch on the one coin.
As a nod to the era, the reverse design has been inspired by the floral elements of the One Rupee Coin, which featured a bust of Queen Victoria surrounded by her name, minted from 1840 to 1901. Also on the sovereign are two glyphs which represent the star-like designs at the top of the Penny Black; the world’s first adhesive postage stamp. This stamp featured a profile portrait of Queen Victoria, which had been designed for a medal used to commemorate the visit of Queen Victoria to the City of London in 1837.
You can secure all of these sovereign coins together, housed in a luxury presentation case, HERE.