This is a great moment in British history: we have a new monarch for the first time in over seventy years, and our first king since the mid-twentieth century. There are generations alive today for whom this will be the first time they have uttered the words “God save the king”. In this day-and-age of instant news it’s easy to gloss over just how significant this event is: the last time there was a change of monarch in Britain, the average house price was just under £1,900, wartime rationing was still in place, a pint of beer cost 9p, a pint of milk 4p, and only 8% of households had a fridge. Gold was just over £12 per ounce!
Another exciting first for our new king’s reign: for the first time in over 200 years of gold sovereign history the accession of a monarch has been commemorated by the striking of commemorative gold sovereign coins. Introducing The 2023 King Charles III Accession Sovereign Range, and in particular, the one-eighth sovereign…
Our new king is the ninth monarch to have sovereigns bearing his portrait – but crucially, he is the very first to ever have his accession commemorated by the issue of gold sovereigns. The reason no monarch has previously released accession coins is quite simple: the time it takes to design, sample, cut dies, strike, then have approved gold sovereign coins is considerable. However, King Charles III is the first monarch to accede in the digital age, which has dramatically reduced some (but not all) of these arduous stages.
It’s also worth acknowledging that the accession of a new monarch is often quite sudden, coming as it does upon the death of their predecessor. This means there can be no ‘advance preparation’. So, although these accession sovereign coins come a few months after King Charles III’s accession, this is the first time in history such coins have been able to be released so close to the event, which is why they are the first gold sovereigns ever to mark the accession of a new British monarch.
On the reverse of these new sovereigns is King Charles III’s royal cypher (or Scots cypher on the quarter sovereign); an interlocking letter C and letter R, ‘Carolus Rex’ inside which are the Roman numerals ‘III’, all surmounted by a crown. To recognise the importance of the four countries of the United Kingdom to the King, each is represented on individual coins by their distinctive floral motifs: the English rose, the Scottish thistle, the Welsh daffodil and the Irish shamrock.
The obverse of these coins is significant too. It features a portrait of the King by artist Jody Clark, with Charles facing the opposite way to his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as dictated by centuries of tradition. It may surprise you to see that King Charles III faces left, but this is actually a tradition that dates back to the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the reign of our new king’s namesake, King Charles II. This tradition has not been evident for the 70 years during which we have had just one monarch, and in fact, for over 50 of those years, we have had only Queen Elizabeth II coins in circulation as the change to decimal currency in 1971 removed any coins of previous monarchs that may have been in circulation up until that point.
The one-eighth sovereign features the new royal cypher of King Charles III with roses at either side to represent England. You can purchase the one-eighth sovereign HERE, or alternatively, you can contact our sovereign experts on 0333 234 3103.
