1885 British Sovereign Queen Victoria AU

1885 Sovereign with the early bust of Queen Victoria (used on all the Sovereigns minted from 1837 to 1887) on the obverse, and on the reverse is the familiar St George slaying the dragon engraved by Benedetto Pistrucci about 1817.

The sovereign was a circulating coin in Great Britain and the Colonies until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. It was recognized and accepted all over the world, and in fact was used as money in many countries when the parties involved wanted to trade in gold. Until the introduction of the Krugerrand 1oz Gold coin in 1967 the Gold Sovereign was the most widely owned bullion coin, and most of the billion or so sovereigns minted are still in existence.

The Sovereign contains 0.2354 Troy Oz of Gold, 22 karat (91.67%, alloyed with Copper). This coin is in Almost Uncirculated condition, a very nice example and hard to find in such nice shape, total 1885 mintage was only 717,723.