How can you visibly see the difference between a full Sovereign coin and a Half-Sovereign coin?

Answer 1

The Sovereign and Half-Sovereign have been minted for hundreds of years, but since 1817, the Sovereign and Half-Sovereign have been minted to standard specifications and are almost identical in appearance, except for size. The Sovereign has a diameter of 22.05 mm. The Half-Sovereign has a diameter of 19.30 mm. The Sovereign at 7.9881 grams is about twice as heavy as a Half-Sovereign at 3.99 grams.

Answer 2

A sovereign is a British gold coin with a face value of 1 pound or 20 shillings under the old Lsd system of coinage (and is now 1 pound or 100 pence under the current decimal system). A half sovereign (also made of gold) had a face value of half of that - 10 shillings (or 50 pence).

The Sovereign has a diameter of 22.05 mm.

The Half-Sovereign has a diameter of 19.30 mm.

The Sovereign at 7.9881 grams is about twice as heavy as a Half-Sovereign at 3.99 grams.

Answer 3

Many pre-decimal British Sovereigns and Half-Sovereigns were minted where the gold was mined from. From 1932 onwards, all British Sovereigns and Half-Sovereigns were minted at the Royal Mint and subsequently, have no mintmark.

Most commonly, the tiny mintmarks are located on the reverse below the Crowned Shield or below Saint George and the dragon (on the ground) and above the year.

Coins minted at the Royal Mint have no mintmark, but may have a die number.

• C for Ottawa, Canada
• M for Melbourne, Australia
• P for Perth, Australia
• S for Sydney, Australia
• SA for Pretoria, South Africa

All decimal British Sovereigns and Half-Sovereigns were minted at the Royal Mint and have no mintmark.