The 1901 Gold Sovereign - Sydney MintThe 1901 Sydney Sovereign has Benedetto Pistrucci’s design of St George and the dragon on the reverse of the coin. The small 'S' above the date indicates the sovereign was produced at the Sydney Mint, Sydney New South Wales, Australia.
Queen Victoria died in 1901, making this one of the last coins struck during her reign.
Queen Victoria’s Old head (also known as the Widow head or Veiled head) can be seen on the obverse of the coin and was designed by Thomas Brock RA.Image credit: Museums Victoria
Mintage: 3,012,000 (may include coins in sets)
Minted at The Sydney Mint
More information (monarch, year, mint, country, category) can be found below coin listings.
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Remember 1901 ?
Queen Victoria died on 22 January, aged 81 years old and has reigned nearly 64 years. Her eldest son, The Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales becomes King Edward VII. The Prime Minister is Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative). Alexandra Palace opens. Robert Falcon Scott sets sail on the RRS Discovery to explore the Ross Sea in Antarctica. Engineer Hubert Cecil Booth patents the electrically powered vacuum cleaner. The Royal Navy's first submarine, Holland 1, launched. Frank Hornby of Liverpool is granted a patent for the construction toy that will become Meccano (Hornby also made train sets). Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal, sent from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland, the letter "S" in Morse. Imperial Tobacco founded by W. H. Wills. H. G. Wells' publishs The First Men in the Moon.
Victoria (1837-1901)
Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India. Victoria ruled for 64 years, a record only recently surpassed by Queen Elizabeth II.Victoria's parents were Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathern, and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She married Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who later became known as Prince Albert. Victoria had nine children, the eldest son succeeding her as Edward VII.
Victoria posed for a number of head portraits, but there are generally three major variants: Young Head (1838-1887) by William Wyon, RA; Jubilee Head (1887-1893) by Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm and Old Head (1893-1901) by by Sir Thomas Brock.
Category: Sovereigns
The 1901 Gold Sovereign Sydney is an example of the Gold Sovereign and is one of the most ubiquitous of all coins and much sought after by both coin collectors and bullion investors. Sovereigns have been minted since 1817 (in Britain 1817-1917, 1925 and 1957 on). At coins fairs you often hear the dealers refer to these coins as Sovs.Besides being minted in Britain, Sovereigns have been made in Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, Perth), India (then Bombay, now Mumbai), Canada (Ottawa) and South Africa (Pretoria) although these regional mints have not made sovereigns since 1932 (although India has produced some recently in a private mint partnership with the Royal Mint). The non-British coins carry a small mintmark ('S','M','P','I','C' or 'SA') just above the date. This 1901 Gold Sovereign Sydney was minted at The Sydney Mint.
The Obverse is the Monarch's head (Victoria) and the Reverse is most often St George and the Dragon, although other backs have been used and are of interest to collectors. The Reverse often gives the Sovs a new term, like "ShieldBacks".
Specifications for the Gold Sovereign
- Weight: 7.9881g
- Diameter: 22.05 mm
- Thickness: 1.52 mm
- Purity: 22 carat = 91.67% (11/12ths gold, 1/12th copper. Adding copper makes the coin more scratch and dent resistant)
- Gold Content: 113 grains = 7.3224 g = 0.2354 troy ounce
- Face value: £1 = 20 shillings
- Monarch: Victoria
History
Up until 1604 there was a coin called the English gold sovereign and in 1816 when there was the "Great Recoinage" the name was revived. At that time standard gold (22 carat) was valued at £46 14s 6d per troy pound; this meant a £1 coin needed to weigh 123.2744783 grains or 7.988030269 g. The weight is still the same today.
As a historical note: to maintain the Gold Standard, in 1816 the value of silver was set at 66 shillings for one troy pound and silver coins were only legal for denominations up to £2.
The first sovereigns carried the head of King George III and the famous George and the Dragon design by Benedetto Pistrucci (29 May 1783 – 16 September 1855), an Italian engraver who became chief medallist at the Royal Mint.
With high value coins such as the 1901 Gold Sovereign Sydney, collectors and bullion investors often worry about forgeries but actually gold coins are very difficult to forge due to gold's unique properties of density and colour. Gold is extremely dense and to use another metal and gold-plate it would result in a coin that is under-weight, over-diameter or half as thick, something that would be spotted very easily. More difficult to spot would be a bullion coin melted down and re-cast as a highly collectable date, but an expert can usually tell these too. You should always use reputable dealers.
Which Mint: The Sydney Mint
The Sydney Mint in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is the oldest public building in the Sydney Central Business District. It stopped making gold sovereigns about 1926.Country of Origin: Australia
Australia is a country and continent surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans. Australia used pounds, shillings and pence until 1966, when it adopted the decimal system with the Australian dollar divided into 100 cents. The 1oz Silver coins are a particular favourite with collectors around the World and feature the famous Australian animals such as Kookaburra, Kangeroo and Kaola. 
On eBay UK:
 | 2004 FULL GOLD SOVEREIGN UK ROYAL MINT, EXCELLENT CONDITION £ 635.00 |
 | 1910 22ct Gold Full Sovereign Coin Bullion - London Mint - Edward VII £ 618.72 |
 | 💰🇬🇧 1902 Edward VII Half Sovereign 22ct Gold Coin £ 304.40 |
 | 💰🇬🇧 2011 Queen Elizabeth II Half Sovereign 22ct Gold Coin £ 303.36 |
 | 💰🇬🇧 1902 Edward VII Half Sovereign 22ct Gold Coin £ 303.36 |
 | 💰🇬🇧 2011 Queen Elizabeth II Half Sovereign 22ct Gold Coin £ 304.40 |
 | Antique Rolled Gold Sovereign Case, SP Finest Rolled Gold, c.1910 Coin Holder £ 234.72 |
 | 2023 King Charles III Coronation Full Sovereign Gold Proof Coin PF70 Graded £ 750.00 |
View Coins on eBay UK
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On eBay USA:
| 2004 FULL GOLD SOVEREIGN UK ROYAL MINT, EXCELLENT CONDITION £ 635.00 |
| 1910 22ct Gold Full Sovereign Coin Bullion - London Mint - Edward VII £ 618.72 |
| 💰🇬🇧 1902 Edward VII Half Sovereign 22ct Gold Coin £ 304.40 |
| 💰🇬🇧 2011 Queen Elizabeth II Half Sovereign 22ct Gold Coin £ 303.36 |
| 💰🇬🇧 2011 Queen Elizabeth II Half Sovereign 22ct Gold Coin £ 304.40 |
| 💰🇬🇧 1902 Edward VII Half Sovereign 22ct Gold Coin £ 303.36 |
| Antique Rolled Gold Sovereign Case, SP Finest Rolled Gold, c.1910 Coin Holder £ 234.72 |
| 2023 King Charles III Coronation Full Sovereign Gold Proof Coin PF70 Graded £ 750.00 |
View Coins on eBay UK
View Coins on eBay USA