Two Pounds History
The first double sovereign (£2 coin), was issued in 1820 for George III, and is considered by some to be be a pattern coin. Under George IV, another gold two pound issue was made in 1823, and this included proof and circulation issues. In 1824, 1825, and 1826, more were issued, but only as proofs, The Coronation of William IV in 1831 saw another gold two pound proof being issued, but only as part of a 14 coin proof set. No gold two pounds were issued in the early part of Queen Victoria's reign, but for her Golden Jubilee in 1887, proof and circulation versions were issued, and this was repeated in 1893 with the introduction of her "Old Head coinage. The Coronation of Edward VII in 1902 saw the last time, and only the fourth time, that a gold two pound coin was issued for circulation; proofs were also issued in complete 13 coin sets. In 1911 and 1937, for the Coronations of George V and George VI, proof gold two pounds were also issued as part of sets.In 1953, for the Coronation of Elizabeth II, a very small number of gold proof sets, including two pounds, are known to have been produced, but these were never made generally available, and we believe none have ever appeared on the open market. If we ignore this last coin, there are a total of 11 different dates of gold two pounds issued between 1820 and 1979, of which 4 dates were produced in circulation versions and quantities. From 1980, the Royal Mint began actively producing and marketing coins for collectors, and this has included gold two pounds, as part of three-coin or four-coin gold sets, which are now issued every year.
In 1986, when a nickel-brass two pound coin was introduced as a possible circulation coin, silver and gold proof versions were also issued, and these have now also become a regular feature of the Mint's collector coin marketing programme.

1937 Gold Sovereign Proof Set In 1937, the Royal Mint issued a gold coin proof set for the Coronation of George VI following a tradition established in the early 19th century. There were none issued in 1953 for our present queen's Coronation, perhaps because of utility and economy measures following two world wars. Rationing was still in place in the UK, and the 1947 Exchange Control Act was in force, which was later amended to include a prohibition on UK citizens from owning or buying gold coins, This act was repealed in 1971.

Obverse
Profile portrait of George VI facing left, with the legend (inscription):GEORGIVS (GEORGIUS) VI D : G : BR : OMN : REX F : D: IND : IMP.
The engraver's initials HP appear at the right beneath the neck.

Reverse The world famous portrayal of St. George, on horseback, killing a dragon. There is no legend (inscription). The date 1937 appears in the exergue, and the initials B.P. also appear at the right of the exergue. These are the initials of Benedetto Pistrucci, who originally engraved the design for medals, and the first modern sovereigns of 1817.

The Same Only Different! Although we have stated that all four coins share the same design, there are some slight differences in proportion and spacing of the motifs of the design relative to the complete flan. An observant collector should be able to tell the difference between photographs of all four coins. For the eagle-eyed experts, our two photographs are of the £5 coin, we intend to add photographs of the other coins soon, possibly on their own pages.

Specifications

Notes on Table
Weight = gross weight in grams.
*AGW = Actual intrinsic gold weight in troy ounces.

Prices & Availability
The prices quoted in the US $ column may be out of date due to currency fluctuations.

* Plus small charge for handling and presentation box. Total approximately £10.

More Information
More information about British gold sets is available on our British Gold Sets Information page.

You may wish to use our order form .

Other 1937 World Gold Coins

Postage & Packing
UK Registered Post (Special Delivery) £9 per order, plus £1 per £1,000
EU Insured Post £10 per order, plus £1 per £1,000
USA Airmail $10,
Insured Shipping $20, plus $1 per $1,000
Canada Airmail $15,
Insured Shipping via Fedex $60, plus $1 per $1,000

Coins Wanted We make an active market in almost all coins, including gold proofs and patterns. If you have any of these coins to sell, please contact us, or post them to us for appraisal and offer.