Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Sovereign - Victoria Pattern
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1880 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Silver |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The iconic Saint George and the Dragon design by Benedetto Pistrucci dominates the reverse, depicting an armoured equestrian Saint George on a rearing horse, his lance having broken, now wielding a short sword as he drives it into the writhing dragon beneath the horse's hooves. The composition is rendered in high sculptural relief with exceptional musculature and movement conveyed in both horse and rider. The date 1880 appears in the lower exergue in Roman numerals-style raised figures below a plain ground line. The field surrounding the central design is smooth and mirror-like, consistent with proof striking, with toning visible toward the periphery. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Pattern sovereigns in silver are produced as presentation or approval pieces, allowing designers and Treasury officials to assess a proposed design before committing to gold production. This 1880 piece falls during the period when the Royal Mint was actively reconsidering the sovereign's design under Benedetto Pistrucci's long shadow — the aging St. George reverse had been in use since 1817, and pressure for a new treatment was ongoing throughout Victoria's reign.
KM#PnB118 is sparsely documented in standard references, which is itself telling: most silver sovereign patterns from this period survive in single-digit quantities, distributed among institutional collections and a handful of private hands.