Gold Sovereign - Does anyone know how to tell the difference between a half sovereign and a sovereign ?

Question

My mother has a gold sovereign with the head of Victoria dated 1900 but is not sure if it is a sovereign or a half sovereign. Can you help?

Answer 1

A sovereign is quite big. In a ring it is possibly too large, especially a ladies ring. A sovereign is twice as heavy as a half sovereign (nearly 8gms compared to just under 4gms)

Answer 2

I think a sovereign was worth £1 so 1/2 sovereign was worth 10shillings (old money). Nowadays that doesn't seem much but it was a weeks wages and the rest. Today they are worth lots more but I'm not sure how much.

Answer 3

The half sovereign is slightly smaller in size; approximately the same size as a 20p piece.

Answer 4

A sovereign is larger, check this link..

http://www.kelleyscoins.com/gold/uk/index.asp