The Royal Mint spans 50 golden years with two Sovereign set

15 Oct 2014

Those celebrating a 50th birthday or golden anniversary this year are likely to identify with The Royal Mint’s  pairing of an original 1964 Sovereign and The Sovereign 2014, marking 50 golden years of history.

Struck in classic 22 carat gold to bullion standard, and both bearing engraver Benedetto Pistrucci’s iconic St George and the dragon design dating back to 1817 on their reverses, the two coins are presented together with a beautifully designed booklet detailing The Sovereign story.

The obverse of the 1964 coin features Mary Gillick’s signature portrait of an uncrowned Queen Elizabeth II, which was the last effigy to appear on pre-decimal coins, although it is still used on Maundy Money. The obverse of The Sovereign 2014 features the present-day image of The Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBF.

Looking back, Britain had plenty to celebrate in 1964: music programme ‘Top of the Pops’ first appeared on TV screens, the film Zulu was a big hit at the box office, £10 banknotes were issued for the first time since the Second World War, and The Queen celebrated the arrival of her fourth child – Prince Edward.

Equally memorable, this year the country has celebrated the first birthday of His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge, played host to the successful Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and marked the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

Together, the two Sovereign coins span 50 years of recent history, and represent a doubly-golden celebration.