SOVEREIGNS MINTED

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28793, 14 January 1959, Page 3

SOVEREIGNS MINTED

Sales Outside Britain

(Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, January 13. Golden sovereigns dated 1958 and bearing the head of Queen Elizabeth II were struck last year in considerable quantities at the Royal Mint and are to be sold abroad for dollars, as it is illegal under the Exchange Control Act for an ordinary person living in Britain to hold gold either as coin or bullion.

This restriction, however, does not apply to residents abroad, whether British or foreign. “The Times” special correspondent says that, although the sovereign, which remains current coin of the realm and is full legal tender, no longer circulates in Britain, it is held abroad in very large quantities—in almost every part of the world. From the time of its first issue in 1817 the sovereign gained international status and became the most highly regarded coin in the world. Consequently the bulk of the mintings went abroad, never to returfi. The Royal Mint in 1910, after a careful examination, stated that probably only 15 per cent, of its gold output was retained in Britain.

In 1937, the latest year for which figures are available, gold coin held by the Bank of England and the joint stock banks amounted to £5l. million, but the total of gold struck since'lBl7, less. withdrawn or demonetised, was about £950 million—so some £9OO million had vanished. Official circles estimated the number of sovereigns still existing abroad today .at somewhere between 100 million and 300 million, but these figures are largely conjectural.

In France, for instance, where there is a hoarding tradition, the sovereign was widely held. In the Near East, particularly Saudi Arabia and surrounding Arab countries, the sovereign was used not only for hoarding but for trading currency.

In Greece it was used extensively as currency during the war. Large quantities were dropped from the air by the Allies to help the partisans and there were today about 25 million in the country. The gold content of the sovereign today is worth about 58s but in the Middle East the price is equivalent to 70s.