Obverse of 1838 Gold Sovereign

1838 Gold Sovereign
Queen Victoria acceded to the British throne on June 20th 1837, but all coins dated 1837 bore the portrait of William IV, and the first coins for Victoria were dated 1838. For the gold sovereign, a shield was again used on the reverse as for George IV from 1825, and for William IV, but redesigned. This shield design was to continue in use until 1887, although a St. George design was also issued concurrently from 1871 onwards. Although 2,718,694 sovereigns were issued in 1838, many must have been melted down. When Englishman James Smithson died in 1829, he left a fortune to his nephew, on whose death the estate was to fund "an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men." There was a further stipulation that this was not to be in England, and in 1838 Richard Bush left England with 104,960 sovereigns aboard in 105 sacks each sack holding 1,000 gold sovereigns. This bequest was used to found the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., USA. This was despite the US government's reluctance to accept anything whatsoever coming from England. All but two of these sovereigns were melted down and re-minted into 1838 ten dollar coins at the Philadelphia mint. the tow unmelted coins remain among the Smithsonian's most prized exhibits.

Shield Reverse of 1838 Victorian Gold Sovereign