Rare Gold Coin Half Sovereign 1986 UK Proof 1 Day, NR! US $12.27 (5 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 18:05:53 PDT Add to watch list

1911 Full Sovereign Gold Coin - High Detail Beautiful US $264.60 (7 Bids) End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 21:01:08 PDT Add to watch list

1912 Full Sovereign Gold Coin - High Detail Beautiful US $81.00 (2 Bids) End Date: Monday Aug-02-2010 12:45:15 PDT Add to watch list

1910 Full Sovereign Gold Coin - High Detail Beautiful US $71.00 (2 Bids) End Date: Monday Aug-02-2010 13:13:43 PDT Add to watch list

1907 Full Sovereign Gold Coin - High Detail Beautiful US $81.00 (2 Bids) End Date: Monday Aug-02-2010 13:26:28 PDT Add to watch list

1926 SA South Africa Mint Full Sovereign Gold Coin US $0.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Monday Aug-02-2010 14:02:23 PDT Add to watch list

1927 SA South Africa Mint Full Sovereign Gold Coin US $0.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Monday Aug-02-2010 14:16:05 PDT Add to watch list

1908 Full Sovereign Gold Coin - High Detail Beautiful US $60.00 (2 Bids) End Date: Monday Aug-02-2010 14:31:26 PDT Add to watch list

1915 Full Sovereign Gold Coin - High Detail Beautiful US $0.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Monday Aug-02-2010 14:52:34 PDT Add to watch list

1928 M Gold Sovereign George V US $275.00 (6 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Aug-03-2010 16:58:35 PDT Add to watch list

1922 Gold Sovereign George V Full Sovereign P US $250.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Aug-03-2010 17:03:28 PDT Add to watch list

1922 Gold Sovereign George V Full Sovereign P US $250.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Aug-03-2010 17:05:40 PDT Add to watch list

1924 Gold Sovereign George V Full Sovereign M US $250.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Aug-03-2010 17:08:47 PDT Add to watch list

1926 Gold Sovereign George V Full Sovereign SA US $256.00 (3 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Aug-03-2010 17:11:04 PDT Add to watch list

1853 Gold Sovereign Young Head Shield Rev. Lusterous EF US $46.00 (6 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Aug-04-2010 18:00:07 PDT Add to watch list

1859 Gold 1/2 Sovereign Young Head Lusterous EF US $0.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Aug-04-2010 18:15:24 PDT Add to watch list

1910 Full Sovereign Gold Coin - High Detail Beautiful US $0.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Aug-04-2010 18:40:48 PDT Add to watch list

1913 Full Sovereign Gold Coin - High Detail Beautiful US $0.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Aug-04-2010 18:56:44 PDT Add to watch list

1912 Full Sovereign Gold Coin - High Detail Beautiful US $0.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Aug-04-2010 19:10:58 PDT Add to watch list

1906 Full Sovereign Gold Coin - High Detail Beautiful US $164.29 (2 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Aug-04-2010 19:26:14 PDT Add to watch list

1925 BRITISH GOLD SOVEREIGN NGC MS-63 "RARE" THIS NICE! US $499.95 End Date: Tuesday Aug-10-2010 23:51:49 PDT Add to watch list

1967 GOLD GREAT BRITAIN FULL SOVEREIGN IN BEZEL US $349.00 End Date: Wednesday Aug-11-2010 16:14:40 PDT Add to watch list

Royal Mint Half Sovereign PROOF Gold Coin & Box - 1984 US $185.00 End Date: Thursday Aug-19-2010 11:14:59 PDT Add to watch list

1984 GOLD Proof HALF SOVEREIGN Original Royal Mint Box US $250.00 End Date: Friday Aug-20-2010 17:16:54 PDT Add to watch list

PROOF 1982 Great Britain GOLD HALF SOVEREIGN 0.1177 US $199.99 End Date: Thursday Aug-26-2010 15:22:03 PDT Add to watch list

UK Gold Sovereign coins were first minted in 1489 for Henry VII of England. These coins contained pure gold and had face values of only £1 or 20 shillings. However, these coins did not contain any imprint stating their value as they were considered official bullion. In 1604, the production of such Gold Sovereigns was stopped and replaced by Laurels although their minting was restarted again in 1817.

The gold sovereigns were made from 23 karat gold and had a half troy ounce or 96% pure gold content. The purity of these gold coins was reduced from 23 karats to 22 karats by King Henry VIII, which then went on to become the defining standard for all common gold bullion coins in both the U.S. and the UK. Today, the amount of gold content in these coins remains fixed at 7.322 grams or 0.2354.

There have been other denominations of these gold sovereign coins released by the British Royal Mint such as half sovereigns which have a face value of 10 shillings, double sovereigns which are worth £2 and quintuple sovereigns having a £5 value. These UK sovereigns were minted as normal bullion until 1982, after which they were only struck as proof coins for collectors. These gold coins are favored by collectors on account of their rarity as they have great numismatic value.

Before the First World War, UK Sovereigns were being produced in large quantities; however, after the war, British pounds were removed from the gold standard. It was only in 1957 that minting of such gold sovereign coins was started once again to prevent any attempts at counterfeiting. All these UK Gold Sovereign coins are marked with a nominal legal tender value, but the current bullion markets prices determine the actual value and price of the gold in the coins.