---
title: "The British Gold Sovereign, explained"
source: "https://goldealers.co.uk/videos/british-gold-sovereign-explained"
date: "2026-09-25"
---

# The British Gold Sovereign, explained

Where the name came from, why the back is not always Saint George, what five centuries of portraits record, and the seven mints that struck it.

## Chapters

- 0:00 — Five sovereigns, three reigns
- 0:10 — The name is older than the coin
- 0:23 — The coin we would recognise
- 0:42 — Saint George and the dragon
- 0:53 — The shield reverse
- 1:10 — Victoria, at eighteen
- 1:30 — The Jubilee head and the veiled head
- 1:55 — Which way a monarch faces
- 2:14 — Edward VIII, and the coins that never circulated
- 2:42 — Five faces of Elizabeth II
- 2:59 — Seven mints
- 3:18 — Still legal tender
- 3:37 — Two hundred years

Runtime 3:52. Watch the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndpo5AJmXRE

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*Published by Goldealers Ltd · https://goldealers.co.uk/videos/british-gold-sovereign-explained*