The year 2017 celebrates the 200 year design of the British
Gold Sovereign created by renowned
Italian gem and metal engraver Benedetto Pistrucci. His ‘St. George and the
Dragon’ design has been relatively unchanged since its creation. The British
Sovereign is considered the flagship of the Royal Mint and is one, if not the
most recognized coin in the world.
Despite the British Sovereign being so widely renowned, little is known about the occupational and health risks endured by Pistrucci. An exhaustive search by the authors has yielded little to no available information regarding overuse injuries that must inevitably have been endured by metal engravers. Pistrucci was reported to have worked 15 hours daily in his engraving work shop. Dr. Wang has seen countless studio artists with overuse injuries particularly in the neck, arms, and hands. Pistrucci must have suffered from persistent overuse syndromes that are not reported. To this day, the only legacy of his sacrifice for his art form is the enduring British Sovereign.
The original British Sovereign originated centuries before Pistrucci was born. The British Sovereign was originally issued in 1489 when
Henry VII won the throne after defeating Richard III in the War of Roses. Henry
VII ordered the Master of the Royal Mint to create a new gold coin to start the
Tutor dynasty. The obverse of the coin depicted the king in full coronation
regalia and the reverse depicting the royal arms, crowned and superimposed on a
magnificent double rose to symbolize the union of House York and House Lancaster
after the War of Roses. The British Sovereign stopped minting in 1604 after the
death of Elizabeth I and end of the Tutor Dynasty.
In 1817, the British Sovereign returned due to the Great
Recoinage of 1816 as an attempt to restabilize the currency of Great Britain
following economic difficulties precipitated by the French Revolutionary Wars
and the Napoleonic Wars.
Pistrucci was employed by the Royal Mint to engrave various
coins and medals. As a foreigner, Pistrucci could not be appointed the position
of Chief Engraver, even though the position was vacant and Pistrucci did all
the duties. Pistrucci’s masterpiece, the British Sovereign design, depicts St.
George (England’s patron saint) slaying a dragon with a spear on the reverse.
Pistrucci choose a classic Greek look where George is naked (except for the
Roman helmet and cape) and muscular. Later designs (2005 & 2012) depict
George wearing a full suit of armor slaying the dragon. The obverse depicts
George III wearing a laurel wreath crown, like the Caesars of Rome.
British Sovereigns are struck in the same 22 carat Crown
Gold alloy as the first modern British Sovereign of 1817. The technical specifications of the coin have
also remained unchanged. The British Sovereign is a “protected coin” for the purposes
of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, which is an act of the parliament
of the United Kingdom which makes it illegal to make fake versions of the coin.
The Royal Mint has released three versions of the 2017
British Sovereign – the regular Sovereign, the half-Sovereign, and the
quarter-sovereign. All versions come in Proof condition in a capsule stored in
a beautiful glossed walnut presentation box. A numbered Certificate of
Authenticity and booklet with information about the sovereign, Pistrucci, and
his design are also included. And for the first time ever, you can register
your British Sovereign purchase on the Royal Mint website where they will
publish your name on a special book that will be published by the Royal Mint.
- OLP
- OLP
