The gold sovereign is one of the most popular gold coins people invest in. Explore how you can start to invest in gold sovereigns and what impacts their value.
There are several ways to invest in gold. Some people buy physical gold, some invest in gold minting companies, and others buy gold sovereigns. If you own gold sovereign coins or are thinking of buying them, you might be wondering what they are worth. Just knowing how much gold sovereign is worth at the time is not enough since it changes constantly.
The gold sovereign is a bullion coin that was introduced in 1489 under King Henry VII.It remains the most popular bullion coin in the world and its most recognisable iteration is the one released in 1817 after the Great Recoinage. The classic design that people who buy this bullion coin are familiar with, as well as its face value, has been around for over 200 years.
The face value of a sovereign gold coin is £1, which it has been since these coins were released and started circulating. While monetary policies and inflation have kept this face value the same, gold sovereign coins are worth much more than this.
These changes happened especially fast after Britain abandoned its Gold Standard back in 1931, This abandonment led to the adoption of fiat currencies, which changed the monetary landscape not only in Britain but around the rest of the world.
While gold bullion coins remain legal tender, they are no longer being circulated.These uncirculated sovereign cons now derive their value from their gold content instead of their face values.
A sovereign gold coin is worth its amount in gold multiplied by the spot price of gold. So, how much gold in a sovereign? The pure gold content in a sovereign gold coin is 7.2224 grams while the spot price of gold is how much a troy ounce(31.10 grams) of gold is worth. This is the price you have to pay for gold at the time.
The spot price of gold is always changing, and this is why how much a sovereign coin is worth changes although its weight does not. Taking the typical spot value of gold and the gold content of a sovereign coin, how much is sovereign worth?Today, you would pay around £300 to buy the £1 sovereign gold coin.
While the sovereign gold coin that most people refer to has a face value of £1, there are variations of this coin that have different values. There is the double sovereign that has a face value of £2 and that has a pure gold weight of 14.63 grams.
The half sovereign is 50p with a weight of 3.6575 grams while the quarter sovereign is half that in value and weight. The quintuple sovereign is a £5 coin with a pure gold contempt of 36.613. The value of these coins is calculated the same way as that of the sovereign coin.
While the sovereign coin derives its primary value from its content of pure gold, some of these coins have a different value that depends on several factors.
The sovereign has been around for numerous monarchs and has borne different sovereign portraits. Coins featuring some sovereign portraits are more valuable than others. For example, coins bearing the portraits of Kings George III andWilliam IV are scarce due to the demonetisation of 1891 that caused the recall of sovereign coins minted before the Victorian era.
Another example are coins bearing the portrait of Edward III. While the sovereign was discontinued during the first world war, a small number bearing the portrait of Edward III were minted but never released due to his abdication. For these reasons, the value of these coins is extremely high.
Notable designs that have led to rare sovereign coins include commemorative designs such as the 500th-anniversary commemorative design and the Ensigns Armorial design.
TheBritish government has had mints all over the world including Canada, India, Australia, and Canada. Each of the coins produced in these locations bears a mint mark, which is a small letter stamped somewhere on the coin. If you would like to buy gold sovereign as an investment, you might pay more for coins that bear these marks, but they will fetch a good price as their rarity and therefore value increases.
You should also check any sovereign coins you buy for die numbers. These are found on older Victorian sovereign coins that have a reverse shield design. These die numbers can be found near the bottom of the coin below the wreath.
The right gold sovereign coins can fetch a high value, and we have seen some fetch up to £1000 on some auctions. Even in cases where you do not have a coin that can fetch such a high price, the one you have already has gold in it, so you can still profit from the rise in the price of gold.
You can buy sovereign gold coins from a dealer, the Royal Mint, or at auction. Buying from the Royal Mint is by far the best option as you will be buying from the original maker. The Royal Mint also sells different types of coins including special anniversary and commemorative coins that make for great investments.
Buying from dealers and auctions is a good option because these coins are validated as original and then valued correctly. Some auctions also sell collections where you can find rare and valuable sovereign gold coins.
So, how much is a gold sovereign worth? Its weight in gold, literally. Sovereign gold is such a good investment because you will always have something physical that has permanent value. This is especially true compared to investments like stocks. Many sovereigns also increase in price not only because of the increase in the price of gold but also due to their rarity, historical appeal, and aesthetics.