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The quarter sovereign is a British bullion or collectors' coin, whose introduction was announced by the Royal Mint in January 2009. Comprising 1.997 grams of 22 carat or 0.9170 fine gold (the crown gold standard), the 13.5 mm diameter quarter sovereign is the smallest modern legal tender British gold coin, with a nominal value of 25 pence.

It is a quarter of the weight of a 'full' sovereign with an actual gold weight (AGW) of 0.0588 troy oz. As of 2020 it continues to be minted, including some to proof quality.

The Royal Mint had produced two patterns for a quarter sovereign for circulation use, one denominated as five shillings, in 1853, but this coin never went into production, in part due to concerns about the small size of the coin and likely wear in circulation.

Victorian pattern coin

Pattern gold coins equivalent to a quarter sovereign (five shillings) were struck in 1853 as the Royal Mint considered which denominations were to be struck in gold and which in silver. At this time, the mint could not process both gold and silver simultaneously and such a coin was seen as an alternative to higher-value silver coins. In 1853, there was heavy demand for coins of both metals, but the Royal Mint gave priority to the more valuable gold coinage. On 7 March 1853, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Gladstone, explained to the House of Commons that the demand for gold was so heavy that there was no opportunity to meet the demand for silver.

In April 1853, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury, William Hayter, responded in answer to a question in the Commons that consideration had been given to striking a gold five-shilling piece, or quarter sovereign, but such a coin would be of very small size, about the size of an American one-dollar gold coin, which he held in his hand as he made his statement. By the end of the month, the Master of the Mint, Sir John Herschel, was able to present to the Treasury two quarter-sovereign pattern coins, but his accompanying report demonstrated that it would be very expensive to strike such coins, which would have to meet exacting standards, and which would wear quickly in circulation, since a smaller denomination would circulate faster than the sovereign, valued at one pound. He also noted that the very small size would make the coin easy to lose, and the light weight would make it difficult to detect counterfeits. He estimated that gold would be lost to the public (either through losing the coins or through abrasion) at fifteen times the rate for the same value of sovereigns.

At the time, a parliamentary select committee was considering decimal coinage, and both Herschel and Thomson Hankey, former governor of the Bank of England. William Miller of the Bank of England also testified. All opposed the quarter sovereigns due to the expense in striking and maintaining them, and the committee did not recommend the quarter sovereign. Thereafter, the proposal died; Dyer suggested that Herschel would have spoken so negatively about the quarter sovereign to the select committee unless he knew the proposal was doomed. A quarter sovereign was proposed again by the new Master of the Mint, Thomas Graham, in 1859, but was turned down by Gladstone.

Pieces purporting to be quarter sovereigns dated 1911 or 1922 are not genuine, but are modern inventions.

21st century bullion and collector's coin

In the first decade of the 21st century, the Royal Mint had been striking, for sale to collectors and those wishing to hold gold bullion, sovereigns, half sovereigns, double sovereigns, and five-pound pieces. In 2009, it added to the sovereign range with the institution of a quarter sovereign. Such a piece, though carrying a nominal value of 25p, did not have to meet the demands of circulation, and so the objections of the 1850s did not apply.

The quarter sovereign has not been given its own design, but uses those given to the other coins in the sovereign range. In most years this has featured, on the reverse, Benedetto Pistrucci's depiction of Saint George and the Dragon that first appeared on the sovereign in 1817. The obverse has shown the reigning monarch.

in 2012 for Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee (another modern interpretation of the George and Dragon, by Paul Day). Beginning with some 2015 issues, an obverse portrait of Elizabeth by Jody Clark was used, though in 2016, some coins bore a different portrait of the queen by James Butler. In 2017, a version with the original, 1817 sovereign design was struck. This was for the 200th anniversary of the modern sovereign.

In 2022, the Royal Mint struck quarter sovereigns with a reverse design by Noad showing an interpretation of the Royal Arms. This design, used for the sovereign and its multiples and fractions, was to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Later in the year, following the death of Elizabeth II, the Royal Mint issued memorial coins in the sovereign range, including the quarter sovereign, featuring an interpretation of the Royal Arms by Clark as the reverse, and for the obverse, the first coinage portrait of Elizabeth's successor, Charles III (r. 2022– ), by Martin Jennings. In addition to a left-facing bust of Charles, the obverse carried the wording CHARLES III DEI GRA REX FID DEF (Charles III by the grace of God king, defender of the faith). In 2023, a double sovereign commemorating the coronation of Charles III was struck, with the obverse a crowned portrait of the king by Jennings and the reverse the Pistrucci George and Dragon.

See also

• Twenty-five pence coin
• Crown

References

1. "Quarter Sovereigns - Available February 2009". goldsovereigns.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
2. 2020 Five sovereign coin set
3. OnlineCoinClub Quarter Sovereign pre-decimal
4. Clancy, pp. 75, 102.
5. Dyer, pp. 75–76.
6. Dyer, pp. 76–78.
7. Dyer, pp. 78–79.
8. Dyer, pp. 78–80.
9. Dyer, p. 79 n.25.
10. Clancy, p. 102.
11. Spink, pp. 155–165. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSpink (help)
12. Marsh, pp. 163–172. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMarsh (help)
13. Spink 2022b, pp. 167–168.
14. Marsh, pp. 164, 170, 173. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMarsh (help)
15. "The Royal Mint unveils the 2022 Sovereign - the first coin in its Platinum Jubilee collection". Royal Mint. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
16. "The sovereign 2022 five coin gold proof set". Royal Mint. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
17. "Queen Elizabeth II memorial sovereign 2022 five-coin gold proof set". Royal Mint. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
18. "The Coronation quarter sovereign 2023 gold bullion coin". Royal Mint. Retrieved 15 August 2023.

Sources

• Clancy, Kevin (2017) . A History of the Sovereign: Chief Coin of the World (second ed.). Llantrisant, Wales: Royal Mint Museum. ISBN 978-1-869917-00-5.
• Dyer, G. P. (1997). "Quarter-sovereigns and other small gold patterns of the mid-Victorian period" (PDF). British Numismatic Journal. 67: 73–83.
• Spink & Son Ltd (2022). Coins of England and the United Kingdom, Decimal Issues 2023 (9th ed.). London: Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN 978-1-912667-93-2.

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