The Sovereign gold coin from the UK is a popular investment product worldwide. As it became known recently, at the auction a rare coin was sold for 1 million pounds. Now it is considered the most expensive UK coin.
The British Sovereign coin is rightfully considered the oldest gold coin in the world. Its first copies were released back in 1489 during the reign of Henry VII. - three years before Columbus discovered the American continent. Since then, 1.5 billion of this coin has been minted with an ever-changing obverse. Since 1917, the weight of the coin has remained unchanged (7.325 g). On the back of the coin is an image of St. George - the winner of the dragon.
The Sovereign gold coin with a face value of 1 pound sterling is very popular among investors due to its recognition and huge circulation. It sells particularly well in member countries of the British Commonwealth, which includes the former dominions and colonies of Great Britain. The Royal Mint continues to issue this coin. At a price it is quite affordable, since its value is very close to the value of the gold from which it is made.
The Sovereign coin can be attributed to the so-called chimes. This means that the value of the metal covers its face value. So it was at the beginning of the 20th century. This also includes the Swiss coin “Vreneli” and German coins of the Kaiser Reich.
At a recent auction, a very rare Sovereign coin was sold depicting King Edward VIII, who came to the throne in January 1936, but already in December of that year he abdicated to marry divorced Wallis Simpson, for which the UK government did not consent.
In honor of his accession to the throne from January 1, 1937, gold coins with his image were to be circulated. But after the abdication, coinage was suspended. Therefore, not a single coin with its image was in circulation. However, six test copies were made. According to Reuters, one of these coins was in private hands. During a recent auction, it was sold for 1 million pounds (about 1.17 million euros). Now it is the most expensive gold coin in the UK.