Sovereign weight set

All the coins we produce are made to strict standards.

In 1816 the British Government's Coinage Act standarised the monetary system of Britain and its colonies.

The gold sovereign became the standard gold coin and had a value of one pound sterling.

However, the value of a sovereign was not written on the coin. Rather, a sovereign was worth its weight in gold!

Each sovereign had to weigh 7.98 grams and contain 7.32 grams of 22 carat gold. The remainder was copper to make the coin more durable.

These specially made sovereign and half sovereign weights were used to regulate the weight of Perth Mint sovereigns.

They were made in London by Oertling, a company specialising in high quality weights and balances.

1899 Perth Mint gold sovereign
Credit: The Perth Mint