Sovereigns of Victoria dates types mintages varieties and rarity scales.
Victoria (1837 - 1901)
Born: 24 May 1819
Accession: 20 Jun 1837
Married: Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Coronation: 28 Jun 1838
Children: 9
Died: 22 January 1901 (81)
Accession: 20 Jun 1837
Married: Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Coronation: 28 Jun 1838
Children: 9
Died: 22 January 1901 (81)
Chief coin of the world
Dating back to 1489 and since its revival in 1817, the Sovereign has played its part as a circulating coin, a bullion coin and, most recently, a commemorative coin.
Accessories
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The currency Sovereigns of Queen Victoria begin with a standard Young head design engraved by William Wyon with date below. The head does not quite fill the field as a later depiction does from 1848, and has the hair bound with a double fillet. It also has a large bun at the rear of the head that drops down into a “ponytail,” which on this earlier issue terminates at the bottom in a single strand ring-like curl. The engraver’s initial’s w.w. appear raised on the truncation. The border is finely toothed with a linear circle around the raised border which features both sides with a milled edge. The young head obverse design in basic from runs from 1838 till 1887. There are no Sovereigns dated 1840. However, this first young head is of a smaller design and only lasts for ten years inclusive from 1838-1848.
The reverse engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen features a new crowned shield design with a laurel wreath surrounding to left and right of 24 leaves per side, the top of each wreath each side terminates in two leaves. The bottom stalks are tied together with a ribbon and emblematic plants are depicted below. A central rose with a thistle to the left and a shamrock to the right. A small rosette appears either side. The inner arches of the crown above have eleven pearls on each side, and five more run up the central upright. There are nine varied jewels on the crown band.
The reverse is struck with an inverted die axis in relation to the obverse.
The shield type reverse design endures in the London series from 1838 till 1874 with just a few varieties. From 1863 until 1874 the reverses of the shield type feature an additional “die” number below the shield.
In 1871 there was a revival of the Pistrucci St George and the dragon reverse on the gold Sovereign which ran concurrently with the shield reverse Sovereign at the London Mint from 1871 till 1874 inclusive.
Much like the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, preparations for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee of 1887 were underway years in advance. The Queen herself had first signified that she was willing for a change in portrait on the coinage as she had been most impressed by a portrait medal of her effigy by Mr Joseph Edgar Boehm RA (6 July 1834 - 12 December 1890) modelled from life. A large plaster model was prepared by Boehm in his studio, and from this metal copies were taken and then reduced for coinage. The Jubilee coinage also marks for the first time in the British currency coinage the die axis being upright (en médaille). All die axes previously on coinage were of the inverted orientation and upright axis was reserved for medals or patterns. The obverse legend appears slightly more abbreviated than the last young head issue too. Apart from this, and the obvious bust change, the coinage is very similar to the previous young head St George type with a milled edge.
It was decided by a Royal Mint committee in February 1891 that the unpopular Jubilee portrait was no longer appropriate and something new was required. Fellows of the Royal Academy were called upon to submit ideas and designs, and the following made submissions:- Edward Onslow Ford ARA sculptor, Edward J Poynter RA painter, Henry N Armstead RA sculptor, Charles A Birch ARA sculptor, Thomas Brock RA sculptor, W Hamo Thornycroft RA sculptor. Interestingly Poynter had been one of the harsh critics of the Jubilee design, so now had a chance to literally prove how good a coin designer he himself was.
However, Thomas Brock’s design won the day and the new older “widow” bust with heavy veil appeared for currency in 1893 to great acclaim. The design was engraved in metal from the designs by the Chief Engraver, George W De Saulles, who later went on to design the obverse for the King Edward VII coinage. Brock’s initials appear below the bust and the titles now significantly include the Empress of India. Again the coins are struck en médaille with an upright die axis and the St George reverse continues effectively unchanged except in the smallest details, which can vary from die to die. The edges are of course milled.
The reverse engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen features a new crowned shield design with a laurel wreath surrounding to left and right of 24 leaves per side, the top of each wreath each side terminates in two leaves. The bottom stalks are tied together with a ribbon and emblematic plants are depicted below. A central rose with a thistle to the left and a shamrock to the right. A small rosette appears either side. The inner arches of the crown above have eleven pearls on each side, and five more run up the central upright. There are nine varied jewels on the crown band.
The reverse is struck with an inverted die axis in relation to the obverse.
The shield type reverse design endures in the London series from 1838 till 1874 with just a few varieties. From 1863 until 1874 the reverses of the shield type feature an additional “die” number below the shield.
In 1871 there was a revival of the Pistrucci St George and the dragon reverse on the gold Sovereign which ran concurrently with the shield reverse Sovereign at the London Mint from 1871 till 1874 inclusive.
Much like the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, preparations for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee of 1887 were underway years in advance. The Queen herself had first signified that she was willing for a change in portrait on the coinage as she had been most impressed by a portrait medal of her effigy by Mr Joseph Edgar Boehm RA (6 July 1834 - 12 December 1890) modelled from life. A large plaster model was prepared by Boehm in his studio, and from this metal copies were taken and then reduced for coinage. The Jubilee coinage also marks for the first time in the British currency coinage the die axis being upright (en médaille). All die axes previously on coinage were of the inverted orientation and upright axis was reserved for medals or patterns. The obverse legend appears slightly more abbreviated than the last young head issue too. Apart from this, and the obvious bust change, the coinage is very similar to the previous young head St George type with a milled edge.
It was decided by a Royal Mint committee in February 1891 that the unpopular Jubilee portrait was no longer appropriate and something new was required. Fellows of the Royal Academy were called upon to submit ideas and designs, and the following made submissions:- Edward Onslow Ford ARA sculptor, Edward J Poynter RA painter, Henry N Armstead RA sculptor, Charles A Birch ARA sculptor, Thomas Brock RA sculptor, W Hamo Thornycroft RA sculptor. Interestingly Poynter had been one of the harsh critics of the Jubilee design, so now had a chance to literally prove how good a coin designer he himself was.
However, Thomas Brock’s design won the day and the new older “widow” bust with heavy veil appeared for currency in 1893 to great acclaim. The design was engraved in metal from the designs by the Chief Engraver, George W De Saulles, who later went on to design the obverse for the King Edward VII coinage. Brock’s initials appear below the bust and the titles now significantly include the Empress of India. Again the coins are struck en médaille with an upright die axis and the St George reverse continues effectively unchanged except in the smallest details, which can vary from die to die. The edges are of course milled.
Victoria Type 1A Shield Sovereigns
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Victoria Type 1B (Die Number) Shield Sovereigns
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