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.
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.
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 |
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