This coin was minted in the same year that the House of Windsor was formed by King George V to distance the British Royal Family from their Germanic familial history. The historic name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was replaced with Windsor, chosen in respect of George V’s ancestral home, Windsor Castle.

This Sovereign features a portrait of King George V on the coin’s obverse, created by Bertram Mackennal – a highly regarded Australian artist and a favourite of the king – and Benedetto Pistrucci’s iconic St George and the dragon design on the reverse.

In 1917, Sovereigns were struck in London, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Ottawa.