The 1980 Gold Sovereign Coin is struck by The Royal Mint in 22-carat gold as part of the British Sovereign family. This flagship full Sovereign denomination has 0.257 troy oz gross weight and around 0.2352 troy oz of fine gold, giving it a clear place within the wider Quarter, Half, Full, Double and Five-Sovereign range.
The obverse carries the monarch portrait used for the year of issue, while the reverse features Benedetto Pistrucci's St George and the dragon reverse. The 1980 coin is struck during the fourth portrait era of Queen Elizabeth II, when modern Sovereign issues were still comparatively limited and strongly collector-led, which helps place it within the changing portrait and design history of modern Royal Mint gold coinage.
The 1980 issue sits within the late twentieth-century revival period for modern Sovereign collecting, when Royal Mint gold issues were becoming increasingly important to both bullion buyers and date-run collectors.
