Victoria Young Head Shield Sovereign Information

The Young Head Shield Sovereign

Her reign would come to define an age and would prove to be the longest reign in the history of the British Monarchy, until now, beating that of George III, in whose reign she was only just born into. There are several variations and in order to categorise they are pooled by portrait, mintmark and die numbers.These sovereigns are also referred to as Type I sovereigns - the obverse portrait was created by William Wyon and the shield by Jean Baptiste Merlen.

1859 Victoria Shield Ansell Sovereign

A Young Victoria 

The 1859 Ansell sovereign is a very collectable shield sovereign and was struck from reworked gold. These can be identified by an additional line which is visible in the rear hairband of the Queen's portrait, as seen in the photograph. These sovereigns are very popular with collectors and listed as Rare 4 in Marsh (The Gold Sovereign, by Michael A. Marsh) with 15 - 25 examples known. Die numbers were introduced on London Mint shield sovereigns between 1863 and 1874 and are located beneath the wreath but above the rose on the reverse. Collecting one of every die number could prove to be an unsurmountable challenge! There are also two different portraits to collect in this group, one being the first head (1838-1848) more commonly known as the smaller head and a larger head on sovereigns between 1848 and 1887. Marsh states that the first type shield sovereigns had the engravers initials W.W. in relief (raised) on the truncation of the neck. He then goes on to say that some have the initials incuse but fails to show these as a separate distinct type which I believe it should be.

Issue Dates

Victoria shield sovereigns were issued from 1838 to 1887 inclusive, with the exception of only three years, 1840, 1867, and 1876.

Full List of Dates

Key To Mintmarks

L = London, no mintmark.
M = Melbourne, Australia
S = Sydney, Australia

1871* Mintage figures include those for 1871 London Mint St. George Reverse
1872* Mintage figures include those for 1872 London Mint St. George Reverse
1873* Mintage figures include those for 1873 London Mint St. George Reverse
1874* Mintage figures include those for 1874 London Mint St. George Reverse
1876* = See 1876 Victoria Young Head St. George Reverse

Die Numbers

Please see our die numbers page for more information about die numbers.

Unrecorded Mintmarks

If you have found a Victoria sovereign of a date mintmark combination which does not exist according to the above table, please check the same date in Victoria Young Head St. George Reverse.

Type Coins

If you are not looking for a particular date, but want a nice example of this type of sovereign, you can order a "type coin". Just look at our list of dates, grades and prices. Select the price you wish to pay, and we will send you the best grade coin we have available for that price, with our choice of date.

Guarantee

All our coins are guaranteed genuine, and we try to grade reasonably conservatively. For customers ordering by post, we want you to be delighted when you receive your coin. We thrive on repeat business and recommendation.