British Gold Half Sovereign AU

British Gold Half Sovereign with bust of George V or Edward VII on the obverse, and on the reverse Saint George killing a dragon.

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.

There are not quite as many Half Sovereigns out there, the Sovereign was far more popular.

The Half Sovereign contains 0.1177 Troy Oz of Gold, 22 karat (91.67%, alloyed with Copper). It has a diameter of 19.3 mm versus 22.05 mm for the regular sovereign, and apart from the weight is the only way to tell the difference as the denominations are not shown on the coins.