Composition
Sovereigns usually have a higher premium to the price of gold than some other bullion coins, such as the Krugerrand. This is due to a number of factors: the higher unit cost of the Sovereign (at under one-quarter of an ounce); the higher demand for the Sovereign from numismatists (compared to the Krugerrand which is not sought-after numismatically); and the higher costs of identifying and stocking a numismatic coin.
Current sovereigns are struck in the same 22 carat (91⅔%) Crown gold (11/12 gold and 1/12 copper) alloy as the first modern sovereigns of 1817. Alloys are used to make gold coins harder and more durable, so they can resist scratches and dents during handling.
The only time there has been a deviation from this composition was in the production of early Australian sovereigns, which used silver as part of the alloy and in London sovereigns dated 1887, when an additional 1.25% silver was added in order to make the blanks softer for the new Joseph Boehm effigy of Queen Victoria. Consequently, 1887 London Mint sovereigns are more yellow in appearance than other London produced sovereigns. This additional silver affected the amount of copper in the coin, not, of course, its gold content. (Nineteenth century techniques of refining were not as advanced as today, and nineteenth century sovereigns became more accurate in terms of their gold weight as silver — which is often naturally combined with gold — was removed as an impurity from the "pure" gold used. Such minor inconsistencies would not affect either their numismatic or bullion value).
Read more about this topic: Sovereign (British Coin)
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