The "modified effigy" designation marks a deliberate intervention by the Royal Mint in 1929, when Bertram Mackennal's original George V portrait — in use since 1911 — was retouched to correct persistent striking problems at branch mints. The Pretoria mint had struggled with the original relief, and the modified, slightly shallower portrait resolved die wear issues that had plagued production across the Commonwealth sovereign series.
Pretoria's sovereign output in these years was modest relative to London and Sydney, and the 1932 issue closed the series before the mint transitioned away from sovereign production entirely during the Depression years.
The "modified effigy" designation marks a deliberate intervention by the Royal Mint in 1929, when Bertram Mackennal's original George V portrait — in use since 1911 — was retouched to correct persistent striking problems at branch mints. The Pretoria mint had struggled with the original relief, and the modified, slightly shallower portrait resolved die wear issues that had plagued production across the Commonwealth sovereign series.
Pretoria's sovereign output in these years was modest relative to London and Sydney, and the 1932 issue closed the series before the mint transitioned away from sovereign production entirely during the Depression years.