The double sovereign is a

gold coin A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are 90–92% gold (22karat), while most of today's gold bullion coins are pure gold, such as the Britannia, Canadian Maple Leaf, and American Buf ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, with a nominal value of two

pounds sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...

(£2) or forty shillings. It was first minted using the design by Benedetto Pistrucci in 1820 under the reign of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

and never entered circulation, instead being considered a

pattern coin A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, but produced to evaluate a proposed coin design. They are often off-metal strike (using metals of lower value to test out the dies), to proof standard or piedforts. Many coin col ...

. As a precursor to the modern £2 coin it shares a similar diameter of 28.4 mm.

History

The history of double sovereigns can be traced back to 1485 when larger sovereign coins were minted using dies of the standard English sovereign, although not entering circulation they are thought to have been for presentation purposes as

piedfort A piedfort (, ; french: pied-fort or ''piéfort'' ) is an unusually thick coin, often exactly twice the normal weight and thickness of other coins of the same diameter and pattern. Piedforts are not normally circulated, and are only struck for pre ...

coins.Royal Mint
Piedforts Following the introducing of the new British sovereign coin in 1817, a special proof double sovereign was minted in 1820 however like the previous double sovereign it never entered general circulation. In 1887 for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee another double sovereign was issued, this time entering circulation for the first time. A two pound coin was an occasional feature of the British currency from 1823 until 1996, but has been minted every year since 1997. With the exception of proof coins issued in 1824, 1825, 1826, and 1831, the design of the reverse always featured the ''George and Dragon'' of Benedetto Pistrucci, with the year in the

exergue A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...

under the design.

19th century

The coin was normally issued in cased "proof" condition, although the issues of 1823, 1887, 1893, and 1902 did circulate. The normal weight of the denomination was 16 grams, with a usual diameter of 28 millimetres. The first appearance of the denomination was in 1820, during the final year of the reign of

. This rare piece was not struck for circulation but only as a pattern. The obverse shows the bust of the king facing right and wearing a wreath, and bears the legend eorge III by grace of God King of Britain (and) Defender of the Faith The reverse has no legend and shows the Pistrucci design. The coin first appeared as a 'currency' or circulating coin in 1823 during the reign of George IV. The legend on this coin reads . The date and Pistrucci's ''George and the Dragon'' appear on the reverse and decoration and a protection, fourth year of his reignincised on the edge. The obverse portrait of the king was designed by Jean Baptiste Merlen. This designer is known primarily for his reverses, with the portrait of the 1823 Two Pounds being the only obverse he engraved, using as a basis a model by

Sir Francis Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...

. Apparently, Pistrucci was unwilling to work from the model of another artist. The quality of the strike was exceptional, producing what some consider to be the most beautiful two pound piece ever produced. The reverse of this coin by Pistrucci has been the basis for the design of this denomination right up to the present day (2009 being the most recent). The 1824-1826 proof coins feature a smaller head of the king, with the legend and the date, while the reverse shows a crowned shield within a mantle cape with the legend . The 1826 coin has the edge inscription . In 1831 a proof coin of this denomination was produced for the start of the reign of king

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

. The obverse shows a right-facing head of the king with the legend GULIELMUS IIII D G BRITANNIAR REX F D, while the reverse shows a crowned shield with the legend ANNO 1831. There is no edge inscription. The next appearance of the denomination was not until the Golden Jubilee of Queen

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1887. The Jubilee head was used with the obverse inscription VICTORIA D G BRIT REG F D, while the reverse shows Pistrucci's design of St George slaying the dragon with the only legend being the date in the

. The edge of this coin is milled, and it weighs 16 grams. This coin was also (rarely) produced in the mint at Sydney, Australia, which is identified by the letter "S" above the centre of the date. The Pistrucci reverse was used again in 1893, when the obverse used the "Old Head" of the queen, with the legend VICTORIA DEI GRA BRITT REGINA FID DEF IND IMP, and the edge is again milled.

20th century

In the reign of King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

, £2 coins were issued in 1902 and did circulate. The 1902 Edward VII coin was also minted at Sydney, being identified by an "S" above the centre of the date. For

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

and

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

, £2 coins were only issued in proof sets in the first year of each reign. In the case of Edward VIII's short reign, it was only prepared for approval, which is why his coin is valued at around £175,000. All these four reigns used the Pistrucci ''George and Dragon'' obverse with milled edges. The reign of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

saw a departure from the normal practice in issuing gold coinage. A small number of gold £2 pieces were struck in 1953 in order to provide continuity of the series, but the striking was not released to the public, with the result that they are now valued at around £75,000. No further £2 gold pieces were struck until 1980. Since then they have been issued somewhat haphazardly in most years. Coins from 1980 to 1984 use the

Arnold Machin Arnold Machin OBE, R.A., FRSS (; 30 September 1911 – 9 March 1999) was a British artist, sculptor, and coin and postage stamp designer. Life Machin was born Stoke-on-Trent in 1911. He started work at the age of 14 as an apprentice china pa ...

effigy of the Queen, while the 1985-1996 coins use the

Raphael Maklouf Raphael David Maklouf (born 10 December 1937) is a British sculptor, best known for designing an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II used on the coins of many Commonwealth nations. Maklouf was born in Jerusalem, to a Jewish family; his father was S ...

effigy and most later coins use the

Ian Rank-Broadley Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS (born 1952) is a British sculptor who has produced many acclaimed works, among which are several designs for British coinage and the memorial statue of Princess Diana at Kensington Palace in London unveiled on her 60th ...

effigy. Until 1993, all these years use the Pistrucci reverse except for 1986 which used a gold version of the circulating £2 coin, and 1989 when a completely new design was used to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the first issue of the sovereign coin: the obverse shows the Queen seated on the coronation throne holding the orb and sceptre, with the legend ELIZABETH II DEI GRA REG FID DEF, while the reverse shows a crowned shield within a

double rose Double rose is a term used for a rose in heraldry when it has not only five petals, but additionally five petals within the outer petals. It is in essence a combination of two roses, one on top of the other. A standard heraldic rose should not be d ...

and the legend ANNIVERSARY OF THE GOLD SOVEREIGN 1489-1989. Double sovereigns continue to be struck by the Royal Mint as

bullion coin Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes fro ...

s, with some struck to proof quality for

coin collectors Coin collecting is the collecting of coins or other forms of minted legal tender. Coins of interest to collectors often include those that were in circulation for only a brief time, coins with mint errors, and especially beautiful or historic ...

, and continue to be

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in ...

. In 2017 a limited number of

s of the standard-size sovereign were minted to mark the 200th anniversary of the British sovereign coin, with the special Garter obverse design; they had the diameter of a sovereign but the weight and gold content of a double sovereign, due to their double-thickness. Piedforts were again coined in 2018 and 2019, in decreasing mintages.

Circulating £2 coin

Since 1986 ''circulating'' £2 coins have been produced in

cupronickel Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimu ...

, and strikings in gold of some variants of these circulating coins have been struck also, for commemorative purposes/collectors.

References

Bibliography

External links

Coins from United Kingdom / Coin Type: Two Pounds (Pre-Decimal)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sovereign British gold coins Bullion coins Saint George and the Dragon