The sovereign and half sovereign would have to be one of the most prized possession of anyone collecting Australian coins. This would be because of the rarity of the coin, the fact they were made from gold and that they were really out of the reach of the common person in times when they were issued.

The first British Sovereign was issued in 1487 for Henry VII. It came out with a value 20 shillings or 1 pound sterling. It was made of 23 carat gold (or 95.83% pure). The name sovereign came about because of the impressive size and portraiture of the coin. It was produced to impress the rest of Europe with the power, prestige and success of the new Tudor dynasty. It also served the job of imitating similar sized coins released in Europe. The first sovereign was issued with the king sitting on his throne with the reverse being the coat of arms and the Tudor double rose.

Henry VIII introduced the half sovereign in 1509. In 1526 the official value of the sovereign was raised to 22 shillings. It was again raised a few years later to 22 shillings 6 pence. Edward VI changed the purity of the gold used in sovereigns to 22 carat in 1550. These “standard” sovereigns were valued at 20 shillings. He also introduced a “fine” sovereign being 23 carat gold valued at 30 shillings. Elizabeth I increased  the “fine” sovereign to 99.4% gold and scraped the “standard” sovereign to be replaced by a 1 pound coin.

James I minted sovereigns at 20 shillings from 1603 to 1604. Sovereigns were discontinued in 1604, being replaced by unites, then laurels and then guineas.

Production of sovereigns restarted in 1817 with the Benedetto Pistrucci designed portrait of St George killing the dragon. It was one of Britains first coins to be produced a mechanical coin press, being powered by steam. The design is still used on current day British sovereigns.

Britain produced sovereigns till 1917 when Britain dropped the gold standard and the gold used to produce coinage was needed to finance the war effort.  They were however produced at Royal Mint branches in Sydney (till 1926), Melbourne and Perth (till 1931), as well as Bombay (till 1918), Ottawa (till 1919) and Pretoria (till 1932) except for a 1925 issue out of London. After 1932 no sovereigns were minted for circulation till 1957, although some were produced for collector sets.

The London Mint produced sovereigns again between 1957 and 1982 as bullion coins. From 1982 to 1999 only proof sovereigns were produced. Since 2000 both proof and bullion sovereigns have been minted.

The Sydney Mint started minting sovereigns in 1857. It was a coup for the Sydney as it beat its’ rival, Melbourne to the punch. The Royal Mint saw the opening of its’ first branch outside of England as a necessity given that gold was abundant near Sydney and the powers at be saw it costly to transport gold to London only to make coinage and send it back to Australia. The first Australian minted sovereign has a uniquely Australian design with the words "Sydney Mint" proudly displayed on the reverse.

Melbourne soon devalued the Sydney Mint sovereign to 19 shillings as rumors went around saying the coins gold was not purer. This was soon dispelled by London who "essayed" the coin. It was found to be worth more than British sovereigns as the alloy was gold and silver, not the traditional gold and copper.

The Royal Mint made the Sydney Mint design obsolete in 1871 in an attempt to standardize sovereign design across all British colonies. Both the St George type and the shield type sovereigns became the standard across the British realm.

In 1872 the Melbourne Mint was established and sovereign production began. The Perth Mint began sovereign production in 1899. Production at all three mints continued uninterrupted till  the reign of George V. During the time of George V, gold prices soared and alternatives to gold coinage, like banknotes, were used. World War 1 saw the demise of the gold sovereign in Australia as the gold was need to fund the war effort. The period 1921 through to 1931 saw some of Australia's lowest mintages of gold coins. Production of sovereigns in Australia ceased in 1931.

The sovereign series Australia's most expensive series. Low grade examples start at $130 or so. High grade coins fetch some heft prices, particularly those post 1920 when sovereign production slowed. With most of there series under the $200 mark in low grade, it still takes some hefty dollars to create a reasonable collection. This means the series is well out of the range of the hobby collector. For the serious collector or investor, the dollars and the effort is worth it, with steady appreciation over a number of years.

I consider the florin series the king of all series purely because a nice collection can be obtained by most collectors at a reasonable price. The sovereign series goes beyond this as the coins are some of the most beautiful coins money can buy and it gives all collectors something to dream about.

References

Cruzi's Coins http://www.users.bigpond.com/cruzi/Coins/index.htm

Gold Sovereigns http://www.goldsovereigns.co.uk

McDonald G, Collecting and Investing in Australian Coins and Banknotes, 2nd Ed. (Sydney: 1991).

Myatt B & Hanley T, Australian Coins, Notes and Medals, Castle Books (Melbourne: 1982).

Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org

As reported in the last edition of the magazine, the Adelaide to Darwin Rail coin would prove to be a popular coin for both coin collectors and rail enthusiasts. From the responses I have seen in the coin collecting community, particular from the RAM forum and my local dealers, this coin has proven to be more popular than first thought. Most dealers were given limited supplies and quickly sold out. The RAM stopped taking orders on release day. The post office has yet to meet orders by its' subscription customers and few post offices have received any supplies. The secondary market has seen a tidy sum being asked for this coin. It peaked at around the $190 mark about a week after issue, but has now settled to around $140. I expect the price on the secondary market will end up at about $130 with a slow increase in value of this coin over time. I do however expect it will take a while to reach the $190 mark again.

The new Olympic coin set was released at the end of March. It consists of a tri-metal $50 proof coin, a silver $5 proof and an Aluminium Bronze $5 uncirculated coin. The Aluminium Bronze and Silver coins can be purchased also as stand alone coins. The agreement between the Mint and the Australian Olympic Committee prevents primary sales of the coin to overseas buyers. This means all coins will be sold in Australia. The coins themselves are not startling though the tri-metal coin is attractive. They remind me of the last commonwealth games coins that can still be found found unsold in some post offices. The price of these coins is quite hefty at $600 for the complete set. The silver proof retails at $85, while the uncirculated coin is more reasonable at $14.95. This set may have some value on the secondary market to overseas buyers. Overall however I think there maybe better value coins out there.