An irresistible opportunity to own a piece of Australias golden history, we are delighted to present the King George V 1911-28 Large Portrait Gold Sovereign!

King George V succeeded his father, Edward VII, in May of 1911, and, in the same year, the first gold sovereigns of his reign were struck. Australian artist Bertram Mackennal had been commissioned to design the George V Coronation Medal, and he was also tasked with creating portraits for circulating currency, as well as stamps. It is said that Mackennal was one of very few artists that the king actually liked!

George V would reign for just over 25 years, and Mackennals splendid effigy of the king would grace gold sovereigns from 1911 until the last was struck in South Africa in 1932. During that time two obverse designs were used on gold sovereigns. The Large Portrait obverse was employed from 1911 to 1928, with the modified Small Portrait type issued from 1929 to 1931.

The change was due to difficulties experienced by the Royal Mint and its branches in striking the original type. Significant metal displacement was suffered during production of the Large Portrait type, and this resulted in greater stress on the dies. Thus, the modification was essentially aimed at extending the working life of the dies.

A wonderful opportunity to add the first King George V Sovereign type to your collection in premium grade, we have Large Portrait Sovereigns available in about Uncirculated to Uncirculated condition. Click add to cart now!