1 Sovereign - George IV Uniface Pattern (1825)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1825 |
| Denomination | 1 Sovereign |
| Face value | £1 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Series | Sovereign |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Gold plated copper |
| Diameter | 22.0mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Rev. artist | Jean Baptiste Merlen |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Crowned shield of arms and mantle, legend around.
Plain
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Affiliate1 Sovereign - George IV Uniface Pattern value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VF | £1,000.00 🔒 | £1,000.00 (1) | – | £1,000.00 – £1,000.00 | 0 | 1 | 06-07-2003 | |
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About the 1825 1 Sovereign - George IV Uniface Pattern
The 1825 1 Sovereign - George IV Uniface Pattern is a collector 1 sovereign coin in the Sovereign series, struck in gold plated copper. It measures 22mm across. Reverse design: Plain.
Common questions
How much is the 1825 1 Sovereign - George IV Uniface Pattern worth?
The 1825 1 Sovereign - George IV Uniface Pattern has a price in one grade on MyCoinage so far: £1,000 in VF, the median of its verified sales.
What is the George IV uniface pattern sovereign?
A trial striking of one side only of the new sovereign design of 1825, with the other face left blank. This piece carries Merlen's crowned shield reverse. It was a die trial in Barton's metal, gold-coated copper, and was never issued as money.
What is Barton's metal?
Heritage Auctions describes it as gold-electrolysed copper, and the dealer Mike Byers as copper plated with a heavy layer of gold. These 1825 trials are therefore copper pieces with a gold surface, not 22-carat gold like the issued sovereign.
How many George IV uniface sovereign trials exist?
No number is recorded. Heritage offered a cased six-piece 1825 set, including an obverse and a reverse sovereign, as likely the only surviving set, and Mike Byers offered a pair of sovereign die trials described as the only pair known.
Who designed the shield on the 1825 trial?
Jean Baptiste Merlen. Wikipedia records that the new Master of the Mint, Thomas Wallace, disliked several of the existing designs and had Merlen prepare new reverses, which replaced St George on the sovereign from 1825.
How do I identify the 1825 1 Sovereign - George IV Uniface Pattern?
Check the diameter 22mm and the metal (gold plated copper) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
In 1825 George IV's sovereign was redesigned. The king had asked for a new portrait after Francis Chantrey's bust, which William Wyon engraved, and Wikipedia records that the new Master of the Mint, Thomas Wallace, had Jean Baptiste Merlen prepare new reverses, so St George gave way to a crowned shield of the royal arms.
This piece is a one-sided trial of that new reverse, with the other face left blank. Heritage Auctions offered one in its Auction 3123 as part of a cased set of six uniface trials of 1825, obverse and reverse for the crown, two pounds and sovereign, struck in Barton's metal. Heritage describes the set as likely the only one surviving, once owned by Fitzroy Somerset, later Lord Raglan, and notes that these were the first trials of the new design for the proof set issued the following year.
The struck side shows Merlen's crowned shield of the royal arms with drapery behind it, which Mike Byers describes as crown and draped arms surrounded by a legend. On the issued coins the shield carries a crowned escutcheon of the arms of Hanover, and the Royal Mint Museum's 1826 proof reads BRITANNIARUM REX FID: DEF:.
Barton's metal is copper with a coating of gold, which Heritage calls gold-electrolysed copper. These trials are therefore not gold coins, though they have a gold surface.
Collecting notes
No number made is recorded, and the examples documented are a pair offered by Mike Byers and the pair in the Heritage set, which Heritage cites with reference to Wilson and Rasmussen 235. Byers says his pair is not recorded in any reference book. Any example should have one blank side and should be copper beneath its gold surface.
The obverse half of the pair is the bare head uniface trial, and the issued coin is the bare head shield sovereign.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Heritage Auctions, Auction 3123, lot 30116: George IV 6-piece certified uniface 'Barton's Metal' pattern trial set 1825, Heritage Auctions, via biddr (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Unique pair of 1825 English gold sovereign die trials, uniface pattern strikes, Mike Byers Inc. (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Sovereign (British coin), Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George IV proof sovereign, 1826 (RMM 1301), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
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