First Portrait – Young Elizabeth:
Start Year: 1953 (Age 26 - 1 year after ascending to the throne)
End Year: 1970 (still used annually on Maundy Coins)
Sculptor: Mary Gillick
This gold Sovereign features the first portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Often referred to as the 'Young Head' or 'pre-decimal' portrait, these gold Sovereigns are dated from 1957 to 1968 (with the exception of 1960/61).
The coin features St. George riding a horse and slaying a dragon on the obverse (front) and the young Elizabeth on the reverse. In this portrait the Queen is wearing the Laureate crown, also known as a laurel wreath. While her portrait was officially used from 1953 onwards, gold sovereigns began using this First Portrait of Elizabeth in 1957, with those coins having a finer milled edge than sovereigns produced from 1958 onwards.
The writing inside the edge says DEI GRATIA REGINA which is the short form Latin for 'By the Grace of God, Queen'. The F D ending stands for 'Fidei defensor', also Latin, which means 'Defender of the Faith' and reflects Queen Elizabeth's position as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England..
Please note: This coin is NOT a specific year version so we have deliberately edited the reverse side of the pictured coin to show no date. You will receive a Sovereign chosen by our vault team from any year between 1957 and 1968.
This coin will be presented in an attractive black-velvet lined oak gift box.
At BullionByPost we dispatch our customer orders with the Royal Mail or the UPS courier service. We deliver all over the UK, as well as shipping to the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey. Listed below are the delivery options at this time.
Please note that the cut-off point for deliveries to be sent out for the next day via Royal Mail is 2pm.
Orders placed after 2pm on Friday will be dispatched on the following Monday. For Saturday Upgrade or UPS details, scroll down.
BullionByPost are now offering customers a high security, insured, allocated storage solution from only £10.00 per month. Our storage service includes free delivery to the vault, individually segregated and fully allocated & insured storage with Brink's with independent audits by Grant Thornton.
- No minimum holding or term
- Minimum charge equivalent to £10.00 per month
- Sell to us or request physical delivery
The high security vaults are located in London and managed by Brink's, one of the world's leading and most reputable security companies. Brink's specialises in vaulting and transporting precious metals. Click here to view our storage fees
