| British gold coins were minted as far back as | | | | where the coin was made. You'll find letters M, S, |
| 1489 when Henry VII issued the first 20 shilling | | | | C, I, P, and SA. These letters stands for |
| gold coin, with his portrait on it. The minting was | | | | Melbourne, Sydney, Ottawa Canada, Bombay |
| stopped when James I Ascended the throne in | | | | India, Perth, and Pretoria South Africa. From 1932 |
| 1603. | | | | all sovereign are made in London, so if you cannot |
| The gold coin was replaced by guineas and unites | | | | see any letter then that means it is made in |
| from 1604 to 1816 but eventually returned during | | | | London. |
| the reign of Gorge III in 1817, with his portrait on | | | | Collecting by date. This is the most expensive |
| the coin. From the time of George up to the | | | | way of collecting coins, for there is some coin in |
| present time is considered as the modern | | | | some years that are expensive. This collection will |
| sovereigns. | | | | include every year and every mint mark. It is |
| People who collect coins mostly collect the | | | | expensive because some years produce rare coin |
| modern sovereigns, for the early sovereign coin | | | | such as the early sovereign coins. The older the |
| are very expensive for most people to buy. If | | | | sovereign coin the more expensive it becomes. |
| you are fond of collecting coins here is some | | | | There are only few collectors that can afford and |
| information on how you could categorized your | | | | have achieved this type of collecting. |
| coin collection. | | | | Collecting by portrait variations. There are more |
| Collecting by reverse design. When you collect this | | | | than few different portraits on gold royalties |
| type of coin it won't cost you much compare to | | | | during their reign. If you are fond of collecting |
| the others, most gold sovereign has a reverse | | | | British gold coins then this is also a good way of |
| design of St. George killing a dragon. But there is a | | | | collecting. There are 4 portrait of Victoria, George |
| time through the years that a shield reverse was | | | | VI had 1, and George V has 2, while Elizabeth has |
| used, for the royalties have different kinds of | | | | 5. |
| shields. | | | | Collecting by monarch. This is the basic way of |
| George IV, William IV, and Victoria used different | | | | collecting sovereign coin, for it is within the |
| kinds of shields on their coins. While Elizabeth II | | | | resources of most collectors. Since royalties |
| only has a shield reverse in two years, the time | | | | always had their portrait when minting a coin so it |
| when it was the 500th anniversary of the | | | | is easier to collect them. |
| sovereign. In 2005 she used a different design of | | | | British gold coins especially for the numismatic are |
| St George slaying a dragon on the reverse design. | | | | fascinating and beautiful, but there are some of |
| Collecting by mint mark. Mint mark is a tiny letter | | | | the coins are expensive especially those early |
| that can be found either above the date or | | | | sovereign. Also remember that generally speaking |
| beneath the portrait. This mark indicated on | | | | the older the coin the larger its value is. |