1 Sovereign - George IV (1825–1830)

One row for each year the 1 Sovereign - George IV was struck. Prices are medians of verified sold listings matched to that year from the listing: circulated is worn condition up to Extremely Fine, uncirculated is About Uncirculated or better. A count in brackets means fewer than three sales behind the figure; a grey figure marked "type" is the median across every year, shown where that year has no sale of its own yet; years with no sales yet fill in as sales are recorded. Most types have been searched year by year only since October 2026, so later years are still filling in. Use the grade table below for a price by condition across all years.

About the 1825 1 Sovereign - George IV

The 1825 1 Sovereign - George IV is a circulating 1 sovereign coin issued from 1825 to 1830 in the Sovereign series, struck in 91.67% gold. It weighs 7.99g and measures 22mm across. Reverse design: Crowned shield of arms and mantle, legend around.

Mintage figures are recorded for 5 years between 1826 and 1830, 13,210,000 coins in all. 1828 is the scarcest date, with 386,000 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1891), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

George IV was unhappy with Benedetto Pistrucci's laureate portrait and asked for a new one based on a more flattering bust by Francis Chantrey. Wikipedia records that Pistrucci refused to copy another artist's work and was barred from further work on the coinage, so William Wyon translated Chantrey's bust into a coin design, and the new sovereign came into use during 1825. The Royal Mint describes the episode as causing much conflict between Pistrucci and Wyon.

Coin Hunter gives 5,724,046 for 1826, 2,266,629 for 1827, 386,182 for 1828, 2,444,652 for 1829 and 2,387,881 for 1830, but no figure for the 1825 bare head coins. The 1828 is the smallest issue by a wide margin, and Clayton calls it rare.

The obverse is Wyon's bare head of the king facing left, with GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA and the date below, as on the Royal Mint Museum's 1826 proof. The Royal Mint Museum notes that Wyon's George IV portraits were based on Chantrey's busts.

St George was dropped. Wikipedia records that the new Master of the Mint, Thomas Wallace, disliked several existing designs and had Jean Baptiste Merlen prepare new reverses. The sovereign shows the crowned royal arms, with England's lions, Scotland's lion and Ireland's harp, and a crowned escutcheon of the arms of Hanover, within BRITANNIARUM REX FID: DEF:. St George did not return to the sovereign until 1871. The coin is 22-carat gold with a milled edge.

Varieties and errors

Proofs dated 1826 were made, and the Royal Mint Museum holds one (RMM 1301) weighing 7.99 g. No mint errors are documented.

Collecting notes

Both George IV types are dated 1825, so check the portrait and reverse: this type has the bare head with the date under it and a shield reverse, while the laureate head sovereign has St George with the date in the exergue. Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums holds an 1825 bare head example weighing 7.98 g.

The 1828 is the date to look for. Wear shows on the hair above the ear and on the crown and mantle around the shield. Clayton warns that the sovereign has been extensively forged, so check weight and detail on any scarce date. Wikipedia notes that Merlen's shield reverse was used again on some 2025 sovereigns, 200 years after it first appeared.