Buy a gold sovereign victoria young head shield back online with Gerrards

Gerrards has the pleasure to offer this unique Victoria Shield Back gold sovereign !

The Gull gold Sovereign Victoria Young Head with the Shield reverse is a highly collectible coin. Very few of these gold sovereign remain in circulation in good condition.

Free of Capital Gain Tax (CGT)

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• Half sovereign Young Head Shield Back.
• All our Victoria Gold Sovereigns

Design of the Shield Back Gold Sovereign

The obverse displays the young head portrait design of the queen Victoria. This design was realised by the engraver William Wyon and its initials WW are visible in the inferior part of the neck. The initial are either incuse or in relief (for years 1853 to 1855). The portrait is surrounded by the initials " VICTORIA DEI GRATIA ". This design is also known as the Young Head or Bun Head portrait.

The reverse displays a shield with the symbol of Great Britain. The die number (for London Mint), or the mint mark is located above the rose (below the shield), at the bottom of the coin. The shield is topped by a crown. This design was realised by Jean Baptiste Merlen. The legend " BRITANNIARUM REGINA FID:DEF: " is displayed in the border of the coin.

It exists three types of gold sovereign Victoria Young Head Shield Back:

• Type 1: from London Mint, all have a die number below the shield on the reverse (above the rose). Designers initials WW are in relief on the truncation of the neck.
• Type 2: from Sydney Mint, similar to those from London Mint, except for the reverse, where the "S" mint mark is displayed instead of the die number. Designers initials W.W are in relief on the truncation of the neck.
• Type 3: from Sydney Mint, similar to those from London Mint, except for the reverse, where the "S" mint mark is displayed instead of the die number. Designers initials W.W are in relief on the truncation of the neck.

Die number ranges from 1 to 111.

Why buy a gold Sovereign Victoria (Young Head - Shield Back) ?

This gold sovereign is a very collectable coin. The Royal Mint issued the Shield Back gold sovereign from 1838 to 1887. The Melbourne and Sydney branches produced this shield back sovereign from 1871 to 1887.

Capital Gain Tax

Like any british gold coin, Victorian gold sovereigns are free of Capital Gain Tax (CGT). Any profit will be tax free if you sell back these gold coins. Therefore, they are ideal for british investors.

Scarcer Coin

Most of the gold sovereign with the Shield reverse have been melted down to produce new ones. In fact, a lot of these gold coins ended highly worn as they circulated.

As a really old currency gold coin, very few of these gold sovereigns remain in good condition. Therefore, this increases even more the collectible value of this coin.

Collectible Value

Gold sovereign from the early Victorian period are highly popular among collectors. In fact, many varieties of this coin with the Shield reverse exist. To cite few, some include dies numbers reverse or the "8 over 7" for the 1848 gold sovereign.

Collectors looking to collect every die number face a really high challenge ! However, collecting the two different portraits (Smaller and Larger Young Head) is a more achievable objective.

History of the Victoria Shield Back Gold Sovereign

The Young Head portrait was introduced in 1838 and was used until 1895 on bronze coins. The Young Head design shows Victoria at only 18 years of age when she acceded to the throne and became Queen of the United Kingdom.

8 years after the design of St George slaying a dragon by Pistrucci was introduced, the Royal Mint changed the reverse design to a shield in 1817. The Shield Back design was the first design on the reverse of the gold sovereign coins, during the reign of Queen Victoria.

The shield back design was issued from 1838 to 1874, replacing the St George slaying a dragon design. Benedetto Pistrucci's design was reintroduced in 1871.

Young Head portrait of Queen Victoria appeared on gold sovereign from 1838 to 1887.

The queen Victoria ruled as Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India for 63 years. Britain became a byword for industrialisation and innovation during Victoria's reign. The horse was supplanted by the steam railway giving hundreds of thousands access to swift and reliable transportation. The improvement of steam-powered ships resulted in the increase of international trade, colonial outposts were opened in far-flung corners of the British Empire. Victoria was the queen of the most powerful and influential nation in the world. Demand grew for British coinage from all every corner of the globe; over 25% of the world's population used coins bearing Queen Victoria's portrait.

Why buy gold sovereigns ?

Gold Sovereigns are the Royal Mint’s flagship product with the Gold Britannia. They combine traditional manufacturing with symbols of Great Britain’s history.

• They contain 7.99 grams of 22 carats gold. This gold-copper alloy coupled with their small size make them more resistant, durable and ideal for trading.
• They have a highly liquid value. You can easily sell these bullion coins to any jeweller or bullion dealer around the world.
• They generally carry a small premium over the gold spot price. This is due because of their high demand from both gold investors and collectors.
• They offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment :

Intrinsic value of their precious metal content.

Additional profit potential due to their aesthetic and historical appeal