1909M Edward VII Gold Sovereign Uncirculated

Description

The 1909M Edward VII Sovereign was struck at the Melbourne Mint in the final year of Edward VII’s reign – the King would die in May 1910, making coins bearing his portrait among the last of their type and imbuing every surviving example with a quiet historical finality. By 1909 the Melbourne Mint had been operating for over half a century and was producing sovereigns of exceptional technical quality, the product of long institutional refinement. That an example from this late Edwardian issue should survive a further 115 years in fully uncirculated condition is a testament to the reverence with which such coins were occasionally set aside, even at the time of striking.

Obverse: The right-facing portrait of King Edward VII by George William de Saulles, with the legend EDWARDVS VII DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX FID DEF IND IMP and the M mintmark denoting Melbourne.

Reverse: Pistrucci’s St George and the Dragon with the date 1909 in the exergue – a design that had graced British and Australian sovereigns for nearly a century by this point, here presented in the full sharpness only an uncirculated strike can deliver.