1896 Gold Sovereign Coin Queen Victoria Old Head Melbourne

The 1896 Sovereign is a British gold coin, minted by the Royal Mint. The weight of the coin is 7.98 grams with a fineness of 916.7 (22 carat gold), this means it contains 7.3224 grams of pure gold. The diameter of the coin is 22 mm. The Sovereigns have a face value of 1 Pound and are legal tender in the UK.

The coin has the mintmark M, indicating it was struck by The Royal Mint in Melbourne, Australia.

The obverse of the Queen Victoria 1896 Gold Sovereign depicts the old head portrait, designed by Thomas Brock. This effigy of Queen Victoria shows her profile facing left, wearing a crown and a widow's veil. It is the third official portrait of Queen Victoria used on coins minted by the Royal Mint. The sculptor's initials, ‘T.B.’, are visible at the bottom of the head.

The inscription on the coin reads 'VICTORIA . DEI . GRA . BRITT . REGINA . FID . DEF . IND . IMP'.

The reverse of the 1896 Gold Sovereign features the traditional design of Saint George and the dragon by Benedetto Pistrucci, as well as the sculptor's initials B.P. and the year of issue.