1 Sovereign - Elizabeth II 1974-1984

Weight

7.98 g

Diameter

22.05 mm

Thickness

1.52 mm

Material

Gold (.9167)

Shape

Round

Edge Type

Reeded

Technique

Milled

Front design

Second crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, legend around

Back design

St George on horseback slaying the dragon right, date and engraver's initials in exergue

Year of Minting

1974-1984

Queen

Elizabeth II (1952-2022)

Mint location

NA

Mint mark

NA

Orientation

Medal alignment ↑↑

Inscriptions

Obverse: ELIZABETH·II·DEI·GRATIA·REGINA·F:D: Reverse: 1981 BP

Context

Following decimalisation, sovereigns for bullion use were issued starting in 1974, the Tower Mint was required to re-install equipment following the order of the 1974 sovereign and produced 2,050,000 between May 1974 and March 1975 (Royal Mint Annual Report 1974 Volume No.105 Image 8 - The Royal Mint Museum). While a further 2,950,000 were minted at Tower Mint for the remainder of 1975 (Royal Mint Annual Report 1975 Volume No.106 Image 3 - The Royal Mint Museum) all sovereigns were dated 1974. The last coin struck at the Royal Mint in Tower Hill, London in November 1975 was a gold sovereign by HM The Queen. Production was finally moved to Llantrisant, Wales, in 1976 with all sovereigns dated 1976 being minted there. The first proof being issued in 1979 except for the VIP Brilliant Proof in 1976, which was issued in extremely limited quantities. The 1979 proof strike was issued individually with an issue limit of 50,000. © The Royal Mint, 1979 The 1980 strike was issued as part of a 4-coin Sovereign Proof set (10,000 sales, issue limit 10,000), individually in proof (81,200 sales, issue limit 100,000) and in bullion. © The Royal Mint, 1980 The 1981 strike was issued as part of a 9-coin Commemorative Proof set (2,080 sales), in a 2-coin set (2,107 sales), individually in proof (32,960 sales, issue limit 50,000) and in bullion. © The Royal Mint, 1981 The 1982 strike was issued as part of a 4-coin Sovereign Proof set (2,500 sales, issue limit 2,500), individually in proof (20,000 sales, issue limit 20,000) and in bullion. © The Royal Mint, 1982 The 1983 strike was issued as part of a 3-coin Sovereign Proof set and individually in proof (21,250 sales, issue limit 22,500). © The Royal Mint, 1983 The 1984 strike was issued as part of a 3-coin Sovereign Proof set (7,095 sales, issue limit 8,000) and individually in proof (12,880 sales, issue limit 22,500). © The Royal Mint, 1984 (former Spink ref. 4204)

Rarity

Common

Coin type

Non-circulating

In circulation

Yes

Demonetized

No

Marketplace listings

0