Description
Britain released the first Piedfort, or double weight, gold sovereign in the year 2017. With the end of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign coming just five years after this, there were only ever four different piedfort sovereigns in her reign: all of them were low mintages, and all four are in this set!
WHAT IS A ‘PIEDFORT’
The ‘Piedfort’ or double-weight coin, has an interesting history. In centuries past, the mints in both France and England used double weight coins as test pieces, produced thicker so they wouldn’t become mixed up with regular coins. These special coins were given the French name piedfort meaning ‘heavy measure’ or ‘heavy foot’ which relates to the extra deep ‘foot’ or base die needed to strike them.
By the mid-sixteenth to the mid-seventeenth century, rulers across Europe started the tradition of giving double-thickness ‘prestige pieces’ to members of their court or as gifts. This included King Henry VII of England, the first monarch to strike the medieval sovereign in 1489.
Today, mints produce Piedfort examples of certain coins for collectors but the extra complexity of striking very thick coins means that mintages tend to be very low.
BRITAIN’S PIEDFORT SOVEREIGNS
The first British Piedfort sovereign ever released was in 2017 for the 200th anniversary of the modern sovereign. The reign of Queen Elizabeth II ended just five years later – and so there were only ever four piedfort, or double-weight, sovereigns in the seventy years of her reign!
Coin 1.
The British 2017 Piedfort Gold Sovereign in Proof, for the 200th anniversary of the modern sovereign with the original St George and dragon design of 1817-1820 which had never before been minted to proof standards
Coin 2.
The British 2018 Piedfort Gold Sovereign in Proof, for the Sapphire Jubilee (65th anniversary) of Coronation with a crowned-65 privy mark near the date
Coin 3.
The British 2019 Piedfort Gold Sovereign in Proof. There was no special event so the mintage was far, far smaller than all the others! Ironically this now makes it the key coin to the series
Coin 4.
The British 2022 Piedfort Gold Sovereign in Proof, for the Platinum Jubilee (70th anniversary) of reign, and the very last sovereign of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.
QUITE A LOT OF GOLD
Don’t be fooled by the fact these look like regular thickness sovereigns. Each of these double weight sovereigns is minted from twice the gold of a regular sovereign, that is, each coin has the same amount of gold as a double-sovereign coin.
These four coins contain the same amount of gold as eight regular sovereigns – which is almost two ounces (1.88oz) of pure gold.
