Description
The 2019 Queen Victoria 200th Anniversary 24 Carat Gold Half Sovereign – the first sovereign ever in 24 carat gold and features the iconic design of Una and the Lion!
This month Britain marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of our all time greatest monarchs. Victoria became queen at just eighteen years of age and in an era of all-powerful men, she became a colossus, ruling the greatest empire the world has ever known.
Her reign was also one of the greatest eras in the history of the gold sovereign coinage itself, so it is fitting that a truly exceptional sovereign coin should provide this 200th commemoration of her birth.
WORLD’S FIRST 24 CARAT GOLD HALF SOVEREIGN – PURER THAN ANY BEFORE!
Queen Victoria is celebrated for her personal virtues, qualities that contributed much to the British sense of equity, duty and fair play. As a tribute to this, these new coins are of greater purity – literally – than all others that have gone before them.
While sovereigns are customarily minted in 22 carat gold (91.67% pure), these new coins are minted from 24 carat gold – an exciting 99.99% pure!
This is certain to create considerable demand – and not just from coin collectors, but also from those who want a world first sovereign!
WITH A DESIGN INSPIRED BY OF ONE OF HER REIGN’S MOST ENIGMATIC COINS
The design chosen for this new coin is one of the greatest from the Victorian era. The design features the iconic design of Una and the Lion an adaptation from Edmund Spenser’s epic 16th century poem ‘The Faerie Queen’. It appeared on the first commemorative five pound gold coin of her reign, of 1839.
Despite its beauty, very few people have ever seen one of these 1839 originals. This is because they were never widely released: they were sold to collectors, and at a premium over their face value. The exact number struck is not known but it is believed to be only 400.
This is why today, when an original becomes available, at auction or by private sale, they fetch anywhere up to £265,000!
So it’s easy to see why this new 2019 commemorative sovereign, a world first in 24 carat gold, and with its design from a great rarity of the Victorian era, will be popular. For many collectors this will be an exciting first opportunity to add this enigmatic coin design to their collection.
SOVEREIGNS: ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT COINS, STILL MINTED TODAY
First struck in 1817, the sovereign was the greatest gold coin of its era. Queen Victoria’s reign was the greatest age for the sovereign, at one point being legal tender in more than 30 nations and territories around the world, and accepted in even more.
That global acceptance was a result of its unparalleled reliability of purity and weight. Even today, just the mention of the word ‘sovereign’ evokes feelings of pride and security in the minds of
most of us.
Although now long gone from circulation, sovereign coins are still struck for those interested in owning gold. And they even have special tax status within Britain: they can be bought without paying any VAT.
THIS HALF SOVEREIGN IS A WORLD’S FIRST
The mintage is restricted to just 1,839 coins with a VR mintmark for Victoria Regina. Authorised by Alderney, and approved by both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Buckingham Palace, it is a wonderful celebration – and a world first one at that – of one of our greatest monarchs.
