Issue 3:- Cool Brexit Coinage (Part 2):- Numismatic News by Rishi Gokhale (a Young Numismatist)
THIS IS AN ORIGINAL ARTICLE!! PLEASE CITE THIS ARTICLE IF ANY INFORMATION FROM IT IS USED FROM IT VIA THE CITATION BELOW!!
Citation:- Gokhale, Rishi. (2020). Issue 3:- Cool Brexit Coinage (Part 2):- Numismatic News by Rishi Gokhale (a Young Numismatist). (Blog) American Numismatic Association Blog. Available at: https://www.money.org/collector/user_53367/blog/issue-3-cool-brexit-coinage-part-2-numismatic-news-by-rishi-gokhale-a-young-numismatist- [Accessed 2 Feb. 2020].
Issue 3:- Cool Brexit Coinage (Part 2):- Numismatic News by Rishi Gokhale (a Young Numismatist)
By:- Rishi S. Gokhale
THIS IS THE 2ND PART OF THE ARTICLE, PLEASE READ THE FIRST PART OF THE ARTICLE IF YOU HAVE NOT YET HERE... https://www.money.org/collector/user_53367/blog/issue-3-cool-brexit-coinage-part-1-numismatic-news-by-rishi-gokhale-a-young-numismatist-
Welcome to the second part of the third article of Numismatic News by Rishi Gokhale! Please cite this article if any info from it is used via the citation provided below. In today's article, I will be discussing the new Brexit Coinage released just the day before yesterday to commemorate Brexit, Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. Whatever your political stance on Brexit may be, this article is only going to talk about the interesting coins made by the Royal Mint to celebrate this important event for Britons and British history. Along with this, I will talk about Sovereigns and the relationship between Britain and the EU.
If you have not heard the news, the day before yesterday at 2300 hours, the United Kingdom officially left the EU. The Royal Mint released 4 new coins on the same day. In this second part of the article, we will go over the final two coins along with the history of British Sovereign coins.
The third coin we will talk about is the 2020 Withdrawal from the European Union Strike on the Day 1 Sovereign. This coin is a normal British Sovereign, with the exception that the coin is struck on January 31, 2020 (the day when Brexit was enacted). There were only 1500 of these stunning coins produced, with each costing £800! However, by just lunchtime of the 31st, all coins were sold!
The coin itself has a weight of 7.98 grams, has a diameter of 22.05 mm, has a value of 1 Sovereign (£1), is round in shape, has a reeded edge, is Brilliant Uncirculated with a matt finish, and is made of 916.7 red gold.
Now, before we move on to the designs on the obverse and reverse of the coin, you might be wondering why firstly, the coin is not pure gold, and second, what red gold is. Gold as we know has different purities. These impurities arise because other materials are in the precious metal. In the case of red gold, copper is present within the gold, which can turn the gold slightly reddish to crimson. Due to this presence of copper, the gold becomes less pure.
The obverse of the coin features Queen Elizabeth II wearing the George IV State Diadem. Around her, the coin reads "ELIZABETH II*DEI*GRA*REGINA*FID*DEF*". This is a short form for the Latin phrase "Elizabeth II Dei Gratia Regina Fidei Defensatrix". In English, this means, "Elizabeth the Second by the Grace of God Queen Defender of the Faith". Below the bust of the queen, the initials J.C. are present, which stands for the engraver Jody Clark.
The reverse of the coin features the classic design on every Sovereign; St. George slaying a dragon. This design was made by Benedetto Pistrucci, who's initials are featured below the stone upon which St. George and the dragon are. On the bottom of the coin, the date "2020" is inscribed. To the right of this date, the Gate to the House of Commons is featured.
The box for the coin has a crimson stripe down the center, with green stripes on the side. In the crimson stripe, the Gate of the House of Commons is once again featured with the words "A VOTE TO LEAVE AND A NEW ERA" below. On the side of the box, the words "Withdrawal from the European Union 2020 Sovereign" are present. Below this "Struck on 31 January, 2020" is featured.
The fourth coin is the 2020 50P Withdrawal from the European Union Red Gold Proof coin. This coin has a weight of 15.5 grams, has a diameter of 27.3 mm, has a proof quality, is an equilateral curved heptagon, has a plain edge and, just like the third coin, has a 916.7 quality, made of red gold and also has a mintage of only 1500 and sold out at lunchtime as well. The coin costs £945.
The obverse of the coin is the same as the third coin, and the reverse of the coin is the same as the first two. (Here is the link to the first article if you have not seen it yet...https://www.money.org/my-ana/viewpost/7536).
Now, let's talk about the interesting history of British Sovereigns. A sovereign is a gold coin which is worth one pound sterling, and was first struck in 1817 as a circulating coin. However, the sovereign is not intended for circulation, and is usually used as bullion and sometimes as jewelry. Many designs have been present over the years, but the design of St. George slaying the dragon has been used in recent years. The coin is named after the English gold sovereign which was first produced in 1489. The British liked using sovereigns in trade and used it instead of lighter weight gold coins. William W. Pole was appointed Master of the Mint in 1812, and instructed to reform the Royal Mint. Here, this new sovereign was born. Italian sculptor Pistrucci came to London in 1816 where he was instructed by Pole to make models for the new coinage. This is where the classic design of St. George and the dragon was made. From 1817-1837, the coin was used in circulation with the design. However, when William IV died, and Queen Victoria took the throne, both sides of the sovereign changed. On the reverse, a shield was placed instead of St. George. From 1914-1979, the sovereign started being used for bullion, trade and as time went on, for coin collectors. Finally, from 1979 to present day, sovereigns are made for bullion and collectors, and are not intended for circulation. While you could technically use a sovereign at any store or establishment, the bullion and collector value of it is much higher!
From two cool Brexit coins, to a history of a coin over 500 years old, the fascinating coins made to commemorate Brexit, truly tell a story of not just the event, but the story of British economics and monarchs from centuries before.
PLEASE CITE THIS ARTICLE IF ANY INFORMATION FROM IT IS USED FROM IT VIA THE CITATION BELOW!!
Gokhale, Rishi. (2020). Issue 3:- Cool Brexit Coinage (Part 2):- Numismatic News by Rishi Gokhale (a Young Numismatist). (Blog) American Numismatic Association Blog. Available at: https://www.money.org/collector/user_53367/blog/issue-3-cool-brexit-coinage-part-2-numismatic-news-by-rishi-gokhale-a-young-numismatist- [Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].
My Sources:-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colored_gold#Green_gold
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_%28British_coin%29
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces183228.html
https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/10869518/brexit-50p-coins-sell-out-britain-leaves-eu/
Comments
Mike
Level 7
St. George is always on English xoins. He's on allot patron Saint of England. Slayer the reconsidering the sheep. He is also on coins of other European countries!
user_53367
Level 3
Interesting, I did not know that! Will definitely look into St. George more.
Longstrider
Level 6
Interesting blog. I enjoyed both parts. It truly is an interesting point in UK and European history. We will see how it turns out. Nice coin but quite a chunk of change. Thanks.
Golfer
Level 5
Nice articles. Thanks for the interesting read.
user_53367
Level 3
I hope you enjoyed the second part of the article. If you have not read the first part, you can find it at https://www.money.org/my-ana/viewpost/7536 . Please feel free to leave a comment!