2017 Gold Sovereign

A landmark coin

The 2017 Gold Sovereign signifies 200 years of the modern Sovereign featuring the George and Dragon reverse designed by Benedetto Pistucci. To celebrate this landmark, it includes a ‘200’ shield mint mark positioned proudly below the defeated dragon.

This is a bullion finish gold coin, issued by the Royal Mint. Coins will be packaged loose for small quantities and come in Royal Mint tubes for orders of 25 and more.

With a history dating back to 1489, the Royal Mint’s flagship 22 carat coin, the Sovereign, represents a trusted constant through years of change.

The obverse features the Queen’s fifth portrait by Jody Clark, reflecting the fact that Elizabeth II has now become the longest serving British Monarch, usurping the previous holder, Queen Victoria. This portrait was first used by the Royal Mint in 2015 after the Royal Mint Advisory committee launched a competition for the updated portrait. Clark was the youngest ever designer to be selected by The Mint at the tender age of 33. The winning design was selected by the committee and latter approved by the Chancellor and then the Queen herself. The 5^th portrait replaces the previous depiction of Elizabeth II, first introduced in 1998 and designed by Ian Rank-Broadley.

Deeper history

So why is the 2017 Sovereign celebrating 200 years, when the actual first production was over 500 years ago? Well, the current gold Sovereign marks 200 years of the current design with George and the Dragon on the reverse and with the current gold content.

The original Sovereign was produced during the reign of King Henry VII in 1489 and was the very first coin with a face value of One Pound. The design showcased King Henry perched on his throne, while the reverse marked the end of the famous Wars of the Roses. However, the coin was over twice the weight of the current version, weighing in at a hefty 0.5 troy ounces, equivalent to 15.55grams. In contrast the current iteration weighs 7.98g.

Our expert opinion

As the current year of issuance, the 2017 Gold Sovereign is in relatively abundant supply compared to older coins which are no longer minted. As such, prices for new coins are lower than pre-owned coins and offer fantastic value to get more gold for your money.

It’s our current best-selling coin as it manages to tick a lot of gold investment boxes and provides a sound backbone for any coin portfolio. In particular it’s a perfect partner to its larger brother the 2017 Gold Britannia coin which offers similar benefits of low premiums combined with marking a mintage anniversary, in this case 30 years of the Gold Britannia.

Equally, the 2017 Sovereign can be teamed with pre-owned Sovereign and Half-Sovereign coins to provide a balance between newly minted and older coins.

The 2017 Sovereign represents additional growth potential as it marks the 200^th year of the modern Sovereign. This is represented with a ‘200’ kite mark on the coin itself. I’d expect this to lead to the coin trading at a premium in future years as investors are willing to pay more for a coin with a ‘collector’s appeal’. Don’t be surprised if this coin becomes a modern classic.

Why buy the 2017 Gold Sovereign from Physical Gold

Buy the 2017 Gold Sovereign from Physical Gold to benefit from fast, insured and discrete delivery. Nowhere else will you receive a Certificate of Authenticity and buyback guarantee.

As members of the British Numismatic Trade Association (BNTA), we’re one the of the UK’s top specialists for UK gold coins.