1 Sovereign - Elizabeth II 200th Anniversary George and the dragon

Alderney has issued commemorative gold sovereigns under Crown Dependency authority since the 1990s, producing pieces that are legal tender on the island but exist almost entirely as collector items. This 2021 issue marks two centuries since the Benedetto Pistrucci reverse — one of the most reproduced coin designs in British numismatic history — first appeared on the sovereign series following the Great Recoinage of 1816. Pistrucci, an Italian gem-engraver who never became a fully naturalized Royal Mint employee, refused to copy other artists' work, which is why his original model has survived largely intact across two hundred years of sovereign production.