During the aftermath of the First World World War, Britain found itself in a precarious financial position, heavily indebted to the United States. This economic reality profoundly impacted the country's domestic Sovereign production, as the government had requisitioned many of the coins to help towards the war effort. Consequently, banknotes gradually replaced coins as the primary medium of exchange in everyday transactions. The era of gold coinage was effectively ending but branch mints across the world continued to strike limited batches of the coins. 

This Sovereign, dated 1919, was struck in Melbourne, the location of one of three Australian branch mints, the others including Sydney and Perth. The reverse of the coin bears a mint mark indicating its origin beneath Benedetto Pistrucci’s timeless depiction of St George and the dragon. The obverse of the coin features a coinage portrait of George V, meticulously designed by Bertram Mackennal.