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 ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Francis Chantrey (model); William Wyon (engraver) |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Bare head portrait of King George IV left, legend around, date below.
Plain
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AffiliateAbout 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?
No verified sale of the 1825 1 Sovereign - George IV Uniface Pattern has been logged on MyCoinage yet.
What is the 1825 bare head uniface sovereign?
A trial striking of the obverse alone of George IV's new sovereign, showing Wyon's bare head with the date 1825 below and a blank back. It is struck in Barton's metal, gold-coated copper, and was never issued as money.
Is the uniface trial made of gold?
No. Heritage Auctions describes the 1825 trials as Barton's metal, gold-electrolysed copper, and Mike Byers as copper plated with a heavy layer of gold. The issued sovereign was 22-carat gold.
Why was a new portrait trialled in 1825?
George IV disliked Pistrucci's laureate head and asked for a portrait from Francis Chantrey's bust. Pistrucci refused to copy it, so William Wyon engraved the bare head, which went on the sovereign during 1825 and was trialled first.
How many were made?
No number is recorded. Heritage offered a cased set of six 1825 uniface trials as likely the only surviving set, and Mike Byers offered a pair of sovereign trials as the only pair known.
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
George IV disliked Benedetto Pistrucci's laureate portrait and asked for a new one based on a bust by Francis Chantrey. Wikipedia records that Pistrucci refused to copy another artist's work and was barred from further coinage work, so William Wyon translated Chantrey's bust into a coin design, and the new sovereign came into use during 1825.
This piece is a one-sided trial of that new obverse, with the back left blank. Heritage Auctions offered one in its Auction 3123 within a cased set of six uniface trials dated 1825, obverse and reverse for the crown, two pounds and sovereign. Heritage describes these as the first trials struck with the new Chantrey portrait for the proof set of the following year.
The struck side shows Wyon's bare head of the king facing left, with the legend around and the date 1825 below, as Mike Byers describes his example. The Royal Mint Museum notes that Wyon's coinage portraits of George IV were not entirely his own work, being based on Chantrey's busts. On the issued coins the legend reads GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA.
The trials are struck in Barton's metal, which Heritage describes as gold-electrolysed copper. They are copper pieces with a gold surface rather than gold coins.
Collecting notes
No number made is recorded. The documented examples are a pair offered by Mike Byers, which he says is unrecorded in the reference books, and the sovereign pair in the Heritage set, which Heritage cites with reference to Wilson and Rasmussen 235. Any example should show a blank reverse and copper beneath its gold surface.
The other half of the pair is the shield 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)
- William Wyon, Royal Mint Museum (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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