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The sovereign is a British gold coin with a nominal value of one pound sterling (£1) and contains 0.2354 troy oz of pure gold. Struck since 1817, it was originally a circulating coin that was accepted in Britain and elsewhere in the world; it is now a bullion coin and is sometimes mounted in jewellery. In addition, circulation strikes and ...
One pound. The British one pound ( £1) coin is a denomination of sterling coinage. Its obverse bears the Latin engraving ELIZABETH II D G REG ( Dei Gratia Regina) F D ( Fidei defensor) meaning, 'Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith '. [ 1][ 2] It has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the original coin ...
It had a diameter of 42 millimetres (1.7 in), and weighed 15.55 grams (0.500 oz t), twice the weight of the existing gold coin, the ryal. The new coin was struck in response to a large influx of gold into Europe from West Africa in the 1480s, and Henry at first called it the double ryal, but soon changed the name to sovereign. [ 2 ]
From 2013 the gold coins have a millesimal fineness of 0.9999 (or 24 carat gold). Until 2012 the gold coins have a millesimal fineness of 0.917 (91.7% or 22 carat gold) with the non-gold component being copper until 1989 and silver from 1990. 2013– Gold Britannia specifications (gold content, and approx total weight)
The half sovereign is a British gold coin denominated at one-half of a pound sterling. First issued in its present form in 1817, it has been struck by the Royal Mint in most years since 1980 as a collector's and bullion piece . The half sovereign was originally introduced in 1544 during the reign of Henry VIII but the issue was discontinued ...
The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, [ 4] and the word pound is also used to refer to the British currency generally, [ 5] often qualified in international contexts as the British pound or the pound sterling. [ 4] Sterling is the world's oldest currency in continuous use since its inception. [ 6]
A 1933 UK shilling 1956 Elizabeth II UK shilling showing English and Scottish reverses. The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or one-twentieth of a pound before being phased out during the 1960s ...
The weight of the English penny was fixed at 22 + 1 ⁄ 2 troy grains (about 1.46 grams) by Offa of Mercia, an 8th-century contemporary of Charlemagne; 240 pennies weighed 5,400 grains or a tower pound (different from the troy pound of 5,760 grains). The silver penny was the only coin minted for 500 years, from c. 780 to 1280.