Big changes ahead for the Royal Mint’s iconic Sovereign, with the introduction of silver, and the swansong of red gold for 2025

Sometimes we cover the release of the annual Royal Mint Sovereign coin, and sometimes we don’t. There’s usually little change from year to year, outside the obvious date inscription, mintages, and prices, but occasionally, there’s a big shake-up, and the 2025 release certainly qualifies for that. We’re not going to go over the whole history and prior issues of the Sovereign, as we’ve done that many times before, and we didn’t get a lot of notice of this release, and we figured you’d prefer to know they exist…

The biggest change is the addition of proof silver coins to the range. The ultra-iconic Benedetto Pistrucci interpretation of St. George fighting the dragon has appeared on many other coins, but this is the first time we’ve ever had an actual Silver Sovereign. There are only proof coins so far, and given they’re only a quarter-ounce in weight, it’s likely we won’t see a bullion variant in this form. It’s still a big deal, however.

There are only two variants, both with the same proof finish, but one of them has been deemed to be a premium proof, as it carries a small privy-mark depicting a crowned shield emblazoned with the number 1825. This is to mark 2025 being the 200th anniversary of the Royal Arms design, first produced in 1825, and designed by Jean Baptiste Merlen. It’s always been a pretty design, steeped in history, and it has extra significance when we talk about the gold range.

Proof Silver

Premium Proof Silver with privy mark

Proof Silver common obverse

Proof Gold St. George edition

Proof Gold Royal Arms edition

Proof Gold common obverse (piedfort depicted)

That significance revolves around the Royal Arms being the design of choice for almost all the proof gold range, from Five-Sovereign, down to Quarter-Sovereign sizes. Indeed, the only proof sovereign weight carrying the Pistrucci St. George design is the standard Sovereign itself. These are both timeless, and much described designs, so let’s move on to the offerings.

As we stated, silver is only coming in Sovereign form. The gold Royal Arms design comes in the full range of five, double, single, half, and quarter sizes, as well as in a Piedfort variant (which weighs the same as a double, but adds that extra metal to the thickness, rather than the diameter). The two biggest, and the smallest, are only available in sets. The Five-Sovereign is also available with a frosted uncirculated finish, and can be bought individually, unlike the proof. You can also buy the Pistrucci variant as a single Sovereign only. It doesn’t have the privy mark of the silver coin, which we feel is a missed opportunity.

The range of sets is extensive, ranging from £1,260, right up to almost £8k, and we’ve listed them out in a table below. Of note are the two sets that include an original 1825-1830 coin in fine or better quality. The two-coin set is actually my favourite pick, and fortunately, the second-cheapest on offer. The Charles II Rose Gold Set has five sovereign coins in it, with one each of the 2025 coins, along with a 2024, 2023, and 2022 dated coin. Along with the proof range, the bullion range returns, although there are no surprises here. The Pistrucci St. George design returns on four variants, from quarter, to double Sovereign weights.

The biggest change for gold will come for 2026. The 2025 will be the last that utilises the 22kt red gold for their composition, and future releases will go yellow, although they haven’t indicated if that means 0.999 fineness (we suspect it does), or the use of silver, rather than copper in the alloy. We’ll update shortly. So, all told, quite a shake-up of what has been probably the most iconic coin of the last couple of centuries. If you do want to buy them, please click the banner below so AgAuNEWS gets a much-needed commission at no cost to you.

GALLERY

Premium Proof silver close-up showing the privy mark

Premium Proof silver

Gold sovereign range alongside an original Royal Arms variant (bullion on far right)

Gold sovereign proof (left) and bullion finishes

Royal Arms gold 1825 sovereign (left) and 2025 sovereign

SPECIFICATIONS

PROOF

VARIANT COMPOSITION DIAMETER FINISH TOTAL MINTAGE
RA FIVE-SOVEREIGN 39.94 g of 0.9167 gold 36.02 mm Proof 535
RA DOUBLE SOVEREIGN 15.976 g of 0.9167 gold 28.40 mm Proof 885
RA SOVEREIGN 7.988 g of 0.9167 gold 22.05 mm Proof 7,035
RA HALF SOVEREIGN 3.994 g of 0.9167 gold 19.30 mm Proof 3,035
RA QUARTER SOVEREIGN 1.997 g of 0.9167 gold 13.50 mm Proof 1,535
RA PIEDFORT SOVEREIGN 15.976 g of 0.9167 gold 13.50 mm Proof 1,260
ST. GEORGE SOVEREIGN 7.988 g of 0.9167 gold 13.50 mm Proof 2,111
RA FIVE-SOVEREIGN 39.94 g of 0.9167 gold 36.02 mm Uncirculated 360
SILVER SOVEREIGN 7.988 g of 0.999 silver 22.05 mm Proof 50,010
SILVER PREMIUM SOVEREIGN 7.988 g of 0.999 silver 22.05 mm Proof, privy 15,010

SETS COMPOSITION

VARIANT 5-COIN SET
4-COIN SET
3-COIN SET
RA 6-COIN SET
RA 2-COIN SET
CHARLES III SET
RA FIVE-SOVEREIGN YES YES
RA DOUBLE SOVEREIGN YES YES YES
RA SOVEREIGN YES YES YES YES YES x 5 (see text)
RA HALF SOVEREIGN YES YES YES YES
RA QUARTER SOVEREIGN YES YES YES YES
RA PIEDFORT SOVEREIGN
ST. GEORGE SOVEREIGN
RA FIVE-SOVEREIGN
1825 SOVEREIGN YES YES
R.R.P. £6,325.00 £2,695.00 £1.260.00 £7,995.00 £2,250.00 £3,500.00

BULLION (ST. GEORGE)

VARIANT COMPOSITION DIAMETER FINISH TOTAL MINTAGE
DOUBLE SOVEREIGN 15.98 g of 0.9167 gold 28.40 mm Bullion Unlimited
SOVEREIGN 7.99 g of 0.9167 gold 22.05 mm Bullion Unlimited
HALF SOVEREIGN 3.99 g of 0.9167 gold 19.30 mm Bullion Unlimited
QUARTER SOVEREIGN 2.00 g of 0.9167 gold 13.50 mm Bullion Unlimited