We’d like to look back at the Hattons of London 2020 ranges, as well as sharing a monumental thank you to all of our clients, new and old. Whether you have started your coin collection in 2020, or have been developing it for a while, we thank you for being a Hattons of London client.
The 2020 Ranges
The 2020 King George III 200th Anniversary Gold Sovereign Range – This was our first range of 2020, reaching a complete sell-out. In 2020, Britain marked the 200th anniversary of the death of King George III, our longest reigning king, and we commemorated this anniversary by mixing 22 carat gold of King George III’s reign with modern 22 carat gold, to create Heritage Mixture Gold.
The design chosen for the quarter sovereign is also of great significance; it depicts one of the most important coins of his reign – the 1762 quarter guinea – which was only ever produced in that one year for this king. This is also the world’s first quarter sovereign to contain authentic Georgian gold of this monarch’s reign.
The 2020 VE Day 75th Anniversary Gold Sovereign Range – This year we marked the 75th anniversary of VE Day, that incredible moment when peace returned to Britain, and the rest of Europe, after six dark years of war. To mark this special anniversary, we created a world’s first; the first sovereigns produced with a rhodium-platinum finish, resulting in a white appearance celebrating the peace brought about by VE Day.
The quarter sovereign depicts the familiar figure of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, seated at his desk at 3pm on 8th May 1945, announcing by national radio broadcast the welcome news that the war has ended in Europe.
The 2020 Dunkirk 80th Anniversary Gold Sovereign Range – This year we marked the 80th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation, the remarkable rescue of Allied troops from the beaches of Northern France that has become known as ‘the miracle of Dunkirk’. To commemorate this, a range of sovereigns was created with a world-first sandblasted finish using sand from the beaches of Dunkirk.
The quarter sovereign coin features a design that pays tribute to the MV Royal Daffodil, a passenger vessel that undertook no fewer than seven trips to the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 and rescued up to 9,500 troops. After the War she was refitted and proudly bore a plaque that commemorated her as a ‘Dunkirk Little Ship’.
The 2020 Pre-Decimal 50th Anniversary Gold Sovereign Range – This year marks fifty years since Britain’s last pre-decimal coins and the end of a thousand years of pounds, shillings and pence. This is an anniversary of great importance, and to convey the importance of this anniversary to the history of British coinage, an entirely new sovereign coin denomination has been struck for the first time; the one-eighth sovereign.
One further feature that makes this new gold one-eighth sovereign coin even more exciting is that it features a design inspired by the last pre-decimal English Shilling, the three lions. This design has never before been minted on a gold sovereign coin.
The 2020 Unknown Warrior 100th Anniversary Gold Sovereign Range – 2020 marks a very solemn centenary: the 100th anniversary of the laying to rest of the Unknown Warrior ‘among the king’s’ in Westminster Abbey, as a mark of respect to all who fell in The Great War.
As part of the centenary commemorations, an exceptional gold sovereign range was produced: a low mintage sovereign range struck on Remembrance Day – the 11th of the eleventh month – to mark 100 years since the Unknown Warrior was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey on that same day in 1920.
The 2020 Mayflower 400th Anniversary Gold Sovereign Range – The final range of 2020, marking the 400th anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower from England to the New World – one of the most important moments in the history of Europe and the Americas.
The quarter sovereign depicts the Pilgrims as they load their supplies onto the Mayflower in preparation for their Atlantic voyage, beautifully highlighted with selective frosting – the first time this has ever been applied to a sovereign coin.
Thank you to all Hattons of London Clients
As mentioned, we’d like to extend a huge thank you to all of our clients, and wish every single one of you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
If you’d like to hear more about our range of new strike and heritage coins, our team of coin experts look forward to hearing from you in the new year, when they return on 4th January!
