Legendary: fewer than 100 minted. Sells occasionally: 6 verified sales in the last 12 months.
2 Pounds - William IV (1831)
"Double sovereign"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1831 |
| Denomination | 2 Sovereigns |
| Face value | £2 |
| Mintage | 225 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Demonetised | 1891 |
| Composition | Gold (.9167) (917/1000 fine) |
| Weight | 15.980g · 0.4710 t oz |
| Diameter | 28.0mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
| Obv. artist | William Wyon, after a bust by Francis Chantrey |
| Rev. artist | Jean Baptiste Merlen |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Uncrowned portrait of King William IV right, legend around.
GULIELMUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Crowned shield of arms and mantle, date below.
2 Pounds - William IV market value
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Affiliate2 Pounds - William IV price history
Daily limit reached2 Pounds - William IV 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDC | £4,400.00 🔒 | £4,400.00 (1) | – | £4,400.00 – £4,400.00 | 0 | 1 | 03-09-2006 | |
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| BU | £9,680.00 🔒 | £9,680.00 (1) | – | £9,680.00 – £9,680.00 | 1 | 1 | 13-05-2026 | |
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| PR-62 | £15,852.65 🔒 | £15,852.65 (1) | – | £15,852.65 – £15,852.65 | 0 | 1 | 01-05-2025 | |
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| PR-63 | £21,136.86 🔒 | £21,136.86 | – | £21,000.00 – £22,000.00 | 1 | 5 | 12-01-2026 | |
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| PR-64 | £26,421.08 🔒 | £26,421.08 (1) | – | £26,421.08 – £26,421.08 | 0 | 1 | 01-05-2025 | |
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| PR-65 | £34,450.00 🔒 | £29,945.00 | – | £4,600.00 – £74,200.00 | 4 | 7 | 30-05-2026 | |
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About the 1831 2 Pounds - William IV
The 1831 2 Pounds - William IV is a collector 2 sovereigns coin, struck in 91.67% gold. It weighs 15.98g and measures 28mm across. Reverse design: Crowned shield of arms and mantle, date below.
225 were struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1891), so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1831 2 Pounds - William IV worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1831 2 Pounds - William IV run from £4,400 to £29,945 across 6 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 £1,411 at today's spot price, which puts a floor under its value.
How many 1831 two pound coins were made?
Coin Hunter and CoinVarieties, the latter citing the Krause Standard Catalog, record 225 pieces, all proofs. A dealer's note says about 150 proof sets were made, so the two figures do not match exactly. No Royal Mint figure was found.
Was the William IV double sovereign ever circulated?
No. Kenyon, writing in 1884, says proofs were struck but no coins of the denomination were issued for currency, and Wikipedia says it was minted only for the 1831 proof set. The next double sovereign was not struck until 1887.
Who designed the 1831 two pound coin?
William Wyon engraved the king's bare head from a bust by Francis Chantrey. Jean Baptiste Merlen designed the reverse, the royal arms within a crowned ermine mantle with ANNO 1831 below, a design shared with the crown and half crown of the reign.
Is the 1831 double sovereign legal tender?
No. All gold coins from before Victoria's reign were called in by royal proclamation on 22 November 1890 and demonetised from 28 February 1891, according to Wikipedia's sovereign article. The 1831 piece is a collector's proof, not a currency coin.
How do I identify the 1831 2 Pounds - William IV?
Check the weight 15.98g and diameter 28mm and the metal (91.67% gold) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
The double sovereign had been struck for circulation only once, in 1823, before William IV came to the throne. Kenyon records that the order in council of 22 November 1830 directed a coinage of double sovereigns, sovereigns and half sovereigns, made current on 13 April 1831, but that only proofs were struck of the double sovereign and none was issued for currency.
The coin was minted for the proof set of 1831 that marked the new coinage. Coin Hunter and CoinVarieties, citing Krause, record 225 pieces. Wikipedia notes that Wyon sketched a five pound piece in 1833 and showed it to the king, but the project went no further, so this was the largest gold coin of the reign. After 1831 the denomination was not struck again until 1887.
The obverse is William Wyon's bare head of the king facing right, engraved after a bust by Francis Chantrey, with GULIELMUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D: (William IV, by the grace of God King of the Britains, Defender of the Faith) and WW on the truncation.
Jean Baptiste Merlen's reverse shows the royal arms within a crowned ermine mantle, with ANNO 1831 below, the same mantled arms used on the crown and half crown of the reign. Wikipedia says the edge has no inscription; the Royal Mint Museum example, recorded in the Mint's 1874 and 1906 collection catalogues, has a plain edge and weighs 15.74 g.
Collecting notes
Every 1831 double sovereign is a proof, so a worn or circulated example has been mishandled rather than spent. Check the plain edge and look for hairlines in the mirrored fields, which show cleaning. Wikipedia notes that double sovereigns showing signs of circulation come from the four years struck for commerce, 1823, 1887, 1893 and 1902, not from 1831. Earlier and later issues are the George IV double sovereign of 1823 and the Jubilee double sovereign of 1887.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- William IV proof two pounds, 1831 (RMM 82), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Double sovereign, Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- William IV's British coinage, Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- The Gold Coins of England (1884): William IV, Robert Lloyd Kenyon, via TreasureRealm (read 12 Oct 2026)
- 1831 Coin Values, William IV, Coin Hunter (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1831 2 pounds, CoinVarieties (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Two Pounds (Double Sovereign), Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Sovereign (British coin), Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- 1831 Proof Two Pound, Drake Sterling (read 12 Oct 2026)
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