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1 Sovereign - Victoria
| Issuer | Royal Mint (Australia branches) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1871-1887 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Gold (.917) |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The crowned quartered Royal Arms shield occupies the centre of the field, displaying the arms of England (three passant guardant lions), Scotland (a rampant lion within a double tressure), Ireland (a seated harp player), and Hanover (omitted after 1837, replaced by England repeated), all surmounted by the Imperial State Crown. The shield is encircled by a wreath of laurel and palm tied at the base with a ribbon bow, beneath which the mint mark appears. The peripheral legend BRITANNIARUM REGINA FID: DEF: runs around the upper portion of the coin, separated from the design by a beaded inner border. |
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| Mintage | 1871 S - Incuse `WW` - 2,814,000 1871 S - Proof - 1871 S - Raised `WW` - 1872 M - overdate variety exists - 748,000 1872 S - - 1,815,000 1873 S - - 1,478,000 1874 M - - 1,373,000 1875 S - - 2,122,000 1875 S - Proof - 1877 S - - 1,590,000 1878 S - - 1,259,000 1879 S - - 1,366,000 1880 M - - 3,053,000 1880 M - Proof - 1880 S - - 1,459,000 1880 S - Proof - 1881 M - - 2,324,000 1881 S - - 1,360,000 1882 M - - 2,466,000 1882 S - - 1,298,000 1883 M - - 2,049,999 1883 M - Proof - 1883 S - - 1,108,000 1883 S - Proof - 1884 M - - 2,942,000 1884 M - Proof - 1884 S - - 1,595,000 1885 M - - 2,957,000 1885 M - Proof - 1885 S - - 1,486,000 1886 M - - 2,902,000 1886 M - Proof - 1886 S - - 1,677,000 1886 S - Proof - 1887 M - - 1,915,000 1887 M - Proof - 1887 S - - 1,000,000 1887 S - Proof - |
| Additional information |
Australia's branch mints — Sydney from 1855, Melbourne from 1872 — were established precisely because shipping raw gold from the colony to London for striking was costing more than the gold was worth in freight and insurance. The Sydney Mint operated from a converted building originally intended as a branch of the Royal Mint's coin exchange facility, making it technically the first royal mint outside the British Isles.
During this issue's production window, mint mark placement shifted and die quality varied considerably between the two facilities. Melbourne sovereigns of the early 1870s in particular are known to exhibit softer strike definition on certain dates, attributable to the new facility working through equipment calibration in its first years of full production.