1881 Gold Sovereign Melbourne – St George

The 1881 Gold Sovereign Melbourne - St George

1881 Gold sovereigns have many variations. They can be made in London, Melbourne, Perth or Sydney and can - in the same year - have combinations of St George or Shield backs. The horse's tail may also vary in length.

This is the 1881 Melbourne Sovereign with a St George back. The small 'M' below the head is a mint mark that indicates the coin has been minted at the Melbourne Mint, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

You can compare it with the 1881 Gold Sovereign Melbourne Mint - Victoria Young Head, Shield Reverse.

The Reverse depicts Benedetto Pistrucci’s famous portrayal of St George slaying the dragon. The artist's initials 'B.P.' are usually on the right of the date, although this may omitted on some varieties like the one shown (which is SCBC 3857A first head and the horse has a short tail).

The Edge is milled.

The Obverse, by William Wyon, shows a Young Head Queen Victoria facing left, plain band and fillet in her hair. Initial W.W. in raised letter set in truncation of neck. Legend VICTORIA DEI GRATIA. The mint mark 'M' just below the neck signifies the Melbourne Mint, Australia.

Note that the mintage figure is for all the 1881 Melbourne sovereigns, which may be Shield or St George.

Image credit: The Royal Mint

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