Description
The gold sovereign is one of the most trusted gold coins in the world. The consistency of its purity, design and production gives it an unrivalled place in the history of coinage. Critical to trade and politics it was, during the era of the Gold Standard, a major factor in Britain’s economic influence around the world. Its distinctive St George and the dragon design makes it one of the most recognisable coins ever produced.
Whilst the traditional gold purity of sovereign coins is maintained at 22 carats, meaning 91.67% of each coin is pure gold, the additional 8.33% of the alloy can vary. By introducing copper as all or part of that remaining alloy, not only does the gold become more durable (pure gold is too soft to be used for coins in circulation) but a pinkish hue is created. Known as rose gold, this has come to be one of the most distinctive types of gold in the world today.
This year, to mark the 100th anniversary of the final Gold Standard sovereign minted in Britain, a double sovereign has been produced from the purest possible 22 carat rose gold alloy and the first to feature this new depiction of St George.
A gold double sovereign in the purest possible 22 carat rose gold alloy!
You are probably aware that 22 carat gold sovereigns are not made solely of gold. Gold is the world’s favourite precious metal, loved for its beauty, value and rarity, but in 24 carat form it is too soft to be used as coinage. The simple addition of a small amount of other metals lend it a surprising amount of durability and strength. This is why the gold sovereign has been minted from 22 carat gold since it was first produced in 1817. That 22 carat gold is an alloy of 91.67% pure gold, with 8.33% of other metals.
One of the most efficient metals to alloy with gold is copper: it only takes a tiny percentage of that metal to make gold much more durable. There’s also the additional benefit that the more copper you add the more of a pinkish hue you give the gold, creating rose gold. In the Gold Standard era, British sovereigns were produced from 91.67% gold usually alloyed with 8.33% in a mixture of copper and silver. However, there was usually some silver in the mix meaning that Gold Standard sovereigns were never produced with the purest possible 22 carat rose gold alloy.
The new 2025 St George Rose Gold Double Sovereign is minted from 22 carats of gold plus 2 carats of copper, with no other metals in the alloy to diminish the colour – this is the purest possible 22 carat rose gold alloy!
St George and the Dragon – a design classic reworked for the modern era
This double sovereign is significant for reasons other than its purity of rose gold. Ask just about anyone in Britain, or indeed around the world, to describe a gold sovereign and chances are they will describe a gold coin with St George vanquishing the dragon. This mythical tale of good triumphing over evil has such a long and illustrious association with the gold sovereign that the two are almost synonymous.
The 2025 St George Rose Gold Double Sovereign features an exciting new interpretation of the story of St George and the dragon from artist and designer Jody Clark, whose portrait of The King is on the obverse side. Clark re-imagines St George battling with the fearsome dragon in shallow water, the waves swirling around them as they fight to the death. As with the final Gold Standard sovereigns of 1925, St George is classically depicted with a bare torso, wearing a helmet and billowing cape. The hero attacks his foe with a spear and on his own two feet, with no horse in sight – a marked difference to the familiar portrayal of St George on horseback. Not only that but he faces away from the viewer, his face rendered invisible as he delivers the final blow.
The first time St George appeared on sovereign coins was in the year 1817 and that early design was by the esteemed Italian engraver Benedetto Pistrucci. Since then, a select handful of designers have been invited to create their own interpretations, none more inventive than this latest depiction by the talented Jody Clark.
100th Anniversary of the last Gold Standard sovereigns
The Gold Standard was a monetary system based on gold and used by almost all of the world’s leading economies from the late Victorian period to the outbreak of the First World War. In 1925, Winston Churchill took Britain back on to the Gold Standard and some 1925 sovereign coins were minted. But the move was short-lived, and gold sovereigns did not return to circulation, meaning that these were the last Gold Standard sovereigns ever minted in Britain.
The 2025 St George Rose Gold Double Sovereign marks the 100th anniversary of the last gold sovereigns being minted in Britain under the Gold Standard.
Authorised by Tristan Da Cunha and approved by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Buckingham Palace, it is a wonderful commemoration – marking the 100th anniversary of the last gold sovereigns being minted in Britain under the Gold Standard.
