1982 Gold Half Sovereign Coin Elizabeth II

Half Sovereigns once circulated as widely as their larger cousin - the ‘full’ Sovereign. Although The Royal Mint began issuing new gold Sovereigns in the 1950s, they did not reintroduce the Half Sovereign until 1980. Two types of 1982 Half Sovereigns are available: proof and uncirculated. You won’t find uncirculated Half Sovereigns available for the rest of the 1980s and 1990s so this is an interesting outlier and an important addition to any modern Sovereign collection. The obverse shows Arnold Machin’s portrait of Her Majesty the Queen. In use on British currency from 1968 to 1984, this uncoupled portrait only featured on one uncirculated Half Sovereign: this one! The reverse shows the classic and instantly recognisable image of St George and the Dragon, crafted for the first modern Sovereigns by Italian artist Benedetto Pistrucci. This image of England’s patron saint is intimately tied to the history of these coins. The same specifications are used for these coins as laid down in 1817: they’re composed of 3.99 grams of 22 carat gold with a diameter of 19.30 millimetres.