Scarce: fewer than 2,000,000 minted. Sells regularly: 12 verified sales in the last 12 months.
1 Sovereign - George V Bombay mint (1918)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1918 |
| Denomination | 1 Sovereign |
| Face value | £1 |
| Mintage | 1,296,033 |
| Mint | Royal Mint (I) · Llantrisant |
| Series | Sovereign |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Composition | Gold (.9167) (917/1000 fine) |
| Weight | 7.990g · 0.2355 t oz |
| Diameter | 22.0mm |
| Thickness | 1.50mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Bertram Mackennal |
| Rev. artist | Benedetto Pistrucci |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Uncrowned portrait of King George V left, legend around.
St. George slaying the dragon right, date and
1 Sovereign - George V Bombay mint market value
Find this on eBay
Affiliate1 Sovereign - George V Bombay mint price history
Daily limit reached1 Sovereign - George V Bombay mint 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNC | £42.14 🔒 | £42.14 (1) | – | £42.14 – £42.14 | 0 | 1 | 30-06-2024 | |
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| EF | £908.40 🔒 eBay | £814.20 (2) | – | £720.00 – £908.40 | 2 | 2 | 11-10-2026 | |
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| VF | £1,128.70 🔒 eBay | £860.20 | – | £460.00 – £1,128.70 | 4 | 7 | 22-09-2026 | |
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| MS-62 | £900.00 🔒 | £900.00 | – | £500.00 – £2,400.00 | 3 | 6 | 08-03-2026 | |
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| MS-63 | £752.50 🔒 | £725.00 | – | £490.00 – £752.50 | 3 | 8 | 09-05-2026 | |
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| MS-64 | £725.00 🔒 | £612.50 (2) | – | £500.00 – £725.00 | 0 | 2 | 27-06-2025 | |
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| MS-65 | £825.00 🔒 | £1,037.50 (2) | – | £825.00 – £1,250.00 | 0 | 2 | 27-11-2024 | |
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About the 1918 1 Sovereign - George V Bombay mint
The 1918 1 Sovereign - George V Bombay mint is a circulating 1 sovereign coin in the Sovereign series, struck in 91.67% gold. It weighs 7.99g and measures 22mm across. Reverse design: St. George slaying the dragon right, date and.
1,296,033 were struck.
Common questions
How much is the 1918 1 Sovereign - George V Bombay mint worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1918 1 Sovereign - George V Bombay mint run from £42.14 to £1,038 across 7 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one. Its gold content is worth about £709 at today's spot price, which puts a floor under its value.
How many 1918 Bombay sovereigns were made?
The Royal Mint gives 1,294,372, and goldsovereigns.co.uk and Wikipedia give the same figure. Coin Hunter lists 1,295,372. The Royal Mint notes that this single year's output was larger than everything the Ottawa branch struck in more than two decades.
Where is the I mint mark on a 1918 sovereign?
On the reverse, on the ground line beneath the horse and just above the centre of the date. Goldsovereigns.co.uk gives this position for all George V branch mint sovereigns and suggests using a magnifying glass, as the letter is small and easy to miss.
Why did India strike British sovereigns in 1918?
The Royal Mint explains that South African gold bound for London was diverted to India because of wartime naval blockades. The Indian government had asked in 1917 for sovereigns to be minted locally, and a branch of the Royal Mint opened at Bombay, issuing its first coins on 15 August 1918.
Are there Bombay sovereigns dated 1919?
No. The branch struck only coins dated 1918, though Wikipedia says striking ran from August 1918 to 22 April 1919. The Royal Mint says that by 1919 no blanks were forthcoming and, with the war over, the branch closed.
How do I identify the 1918 1 Sovereign - George V Bombay mint?
Check the weight 7.99g and diameter 22mm and the metal (91.67% gold) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
India used sovereigns long before it struck them. The Royal Mint records that early Sydney sovereigns were prized there for their yellow colour, and that a Bombay branch had been considered around 1900 but shelved in 1903. In 1917 the Indian government asked again, and wartime naval blockades meant South African gold bound for London was diverted to India.
The branch was built within the grounds of the existing Bombay mint, completed in May 1918, and issued its first sovereigns on 15 August 1918 under the Deputy Master R. R. Kahan. The Royal Mint gives the output as 1,294,372, all dated 1918. By 1919 no blanks were forthcoming and the branch closed. It struck more sovereigns in that one year than Ottawa did in more than two decades.
The coin is the standard George V sovereign. The obverse is Bertram Mackennal's bare-headed portrait of the King facing left, and the reverse is Benedetto Pistrucci's St George slaying the dragon. The only difference from a London coin is the small I, for India, on the ground line above the date. The 1910 proclamation prescribes a milled edge, and the Royal Mint lists the alloy as 22 carat gold.
Collecting notes
Goldsovereigns.co.uk notes that, as the only date from this mint, the 1918 I attracts type collectors as well as date collectors, and that it is in more demand than the other mint marks of 1918. The same dealer warns that rarity does not follow mintage exactly, as many sovereigns were melted.
The Royal Mint Museum mentions a belief that Indian sovereigns paid T. E. Lawrence's troops in the Middle East, but says this may not be true. Check the mint mark under a glass: the 1918 sovereigns of Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Ottawa use the same designs. The London sovereign of George V has its own page.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- 1918 George V Sovereign Struck in India, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Sovereign (British coin), Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- George V (modern sovereign), Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Branch Mints: Bombay India, goldsovereigns.co.uk (Chard) (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Bombay Mint sovereign, Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining new designs for gold and bronze coins, 28 November 1910 (London Gazette issue 28442, page 8941), The London Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 1918 Coin Values, George V, Coin Hunter (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Double sovereign, Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 1918 Gold Sovereign, goldsovereigns.co.uk (Chard) (read 10 Oct 2026)
- George V, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
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