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Double Sovereign
The double sovereign is a gold coin of the United Kingdom with a face value, nominal value of two Pound sterling, pounds sterling (£2). Rarely issued in the first 150 years after its debut in 1820, it never had a significant presence in circulation. It became a coin collecting, collector and bullion coin, and has been coining (mint), struck most years since 1980. It features the reigning monarch on its obverse and, most often, Benedetto Pistrucci's depiction of Saint George and the Dragon on the reverse. The double sovereign was first minted in 1820 and depicted George III, but this issue never entered circulation, instead being considered a pattern coin. In the following century and a half, it was most often issued to mark the beginning of a new reign, or the institution of a new coinage portrait of the reigning monarch. These were mostly proof coinage, proof coins; the denomination was issued for circulation in only four years. Few examples that are worn from commercial use ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sydney Mint
The Sydney Mint in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is the oldest surviving public building in the Sydney central business district. Built between 1811 and 1816 as the southern wing of the Sydney Hospital, it was then known as the ''Rum Hospital''. In 1854 a Mint (coin), mint was established on the site with the hospital building used to house mint staff as well as providing a residence for the Deputy Mint Master. A coining factory was built at the rear. Both of these structures have exceptional heritage significance and have been associated with major events in the colonial history of New South Wales. Located in Sydney's central business district at 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney, Macquarie Street, it is near many other famous Australian historical buildings including Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney, Hyde Park Barracks, St James' Church, Sydney, St James' Church and Parliament House, Sydney, Parliament House. The building is now the head office of the Historic Houses Trust of New Sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parliament Of The United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster in London. Parliament possesses legislative supremacy and thereby holds ultimate power over all other political bodies in the United Kingdom and the Overseas Territories. While Parliament is bicameral, it has three parts: the sovereign, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The three parts acting together to legislate may be described as the King-in-Parliament. The Crown normally acts on the advice of the prime minister, and the powers of the House of Lords are limited to only delaying legislation. The House of Commons is the elected lower chamber of Parliament, with elections to 650 single-member constituencies held at least every five years under the first-past-the-post system. By constitutional conventi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cameo (carving)
Cameo () is a method of carving an object such as an engraved gem, item of jewellery or vessel. It nearly always features a raised (positive) relief image; contrast with intaglio, which has a negative image. Originally, and still in discussing historical work, cameo only referred to works where the relief image was of a contrasting colour to the background; this was achieved by carefully carving a piece of material with a flat plane where two contrasting colours met, removing all the first colour except for the image to leave a contrasting background. A variation of a carved cameo is a cameo incrustation (or sulphide). An artist, usually an engraver, carves a small portrait, then makes a cast from the carving, from which a ceramic type cameo is produced. This is then encased in a glass object, often a paperweight. These are very difficult to make but were popular from the late 18th century through the end of the 19th century. Originating in Bohemia, the finest examples were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banknotes Of The Pound Sterling
The pound sterling (symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217 currency code: GBP) is the official currency of the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Tristan da Cunha. The Bank of England has a legal monopoly of banknote issuance in England and Wales. Six other banks (Banknotes of Scotland, three in Scotland and Banknotes of Northern Ireland, three in Northern Ireland) also issue their own banknotes as provisioned by the Banking Act 2009, but the law requires that the issuing banks hold a sum of Bank of England note issues, Bank of England banknotes (or gold) equivalent to the total value of notes issued. Versions of the pound sterling issued by Crown dependencies and other areas are regulated by their local governments and not by the Bank of England. Four British Overseas Territories (Gibraltar, Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands) also have currencies called pounds which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Half Sovereign
The half sovereign is a British gold coin face value, denominated at one-half of a pound sterling. First issued in its present form in 1817, it has been struck by the Royal Mint in most years since 1980 as a collector's and bullion coin, bullion piece. The half sovereign was originally introduced in 1544 during the reign of Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII but the issue was discontinued after 1604. In 1817, as part of the Great Recoinage of 1816, Great Recoinage, half sovereigns and sovereign (British coin), sovereigns were reintroduced. Until it was discontinued as a currency coin in 1926, the half sovereign was struck in most years and circulated widely. In addition to being coined in London, it was struck at the colonial mints in Australia and South Africa. Exacting standards made it difficult to strike, and it was considered for elimination in the 1880s despite its popularity. Production of half sovereigns continued until 1926 and, apart from special issues for coronatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Numismatic
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other means of payment used to resolve debts and exchange goods. The earliest forms of money used by people are categorised by collectors as "odd and curious", but the use of other goods in barter exchange is excluded, even where used as a circulating currency (e.g., cigarettes or instant noodles in prison). As an example, the Kyrgyz people used horses as the principal currency unit, and gave small change in lambskins; the lambskins may be suitable for numismatic study, but the horses are not. Many objects have been used for centuries, such as cowry shells, precious metals, cocoa beans, large stones, and gems. Etymology First attested in English in 1829, the word ''numismatics'' comes from the ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sovereign (English Coin)
The sovereign was a gold coin of the Kingdom of England first issued in 1489 under King Henry VII. The coin had a nominal value of one pound sterling, or twenty shillings. The sovereign was primarily an official piece of bullion and had no mark of value on its face. Nonetheless, it was the country's first coin to be valued at one pound. The name derives from the large size and majestic portrait of the monarch (the "sovereign"), with the obverse of the first sovereigns showing the king's full face, sitting on a throne, while the reverse shows the Royal Arms of England and a Tudor double rose. The first sovereigns were of 23- carat (95.83%) gold and weighed 240 grains, or half a troy ounce. King Henry VIII lessened the gold content to 22 carats, or 91.67%. Although this was part of what is called The Great Debasement, 22 carats became the gold coin standard in both the British Isles and later the United States, known as crown gold. It had a diameter of , and weigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sovereign (British Coin)
The sovereign is a British gold coin with a face value, nominal value of one pound sterling (£1) and contains of pure gold. Struck since 1817, it was originally a Currency in circulation, circulating coin that was accepted in Britain and elsewhere in the world; it is now a bullion coin and is sometimes mounted in jewellery. In addition, circulation strikes and proof coin, proof examples are often collected for their numismatic value. In most recent years, it has borne the design of Saint George and the Dragon on the obverse and reverse, reverse; the initials () of the designer, Benedetto Pistrucci, are visible to the right of the date. The coin was named after the English gold sovereign, which was last minted about 1603, and originated as part of the Great Recoinage of 1816. Many in Parliament believed a one-pound coin should be issued rather than the 21-shilling guinea (British coin), guinea that was struck until that time. The Master of the Mint, William Wellesley-Pole, 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III, having done so since 5 February 1811 during his father's final mental illness. George IV was the eldest child of King George III and Queen Charlotte. He led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the Regency era. He was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and remodel Buckingham Palace, and commissioned Jeffry Wyatville to rebuild Windsor Castle. George's charm and culture earned him the title "the first gentleman of England", but his dissolute way of life and poor relationships with his parents and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, earned him the contempt of the peop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Five Pounds (British Gold Coin)
The five pound British gold coin, also known as a quintuple sovereign, has a nominal value of five pounds sterling (£5). It has been struck intermittently since 1820, though as a circulation coin only in 1887, 1893 and 1902. Through most of its history, it has depicted, on its reverse, Benedetto Pistrucci's portrayal of St George and the Dragon, which has traditionally been used on the sovereign, or one-pound gold coin. The five-pound piece was one of the original denominations of gold coins authorised as part of the Great Recoinage of 1816. It was not struck until 1820, and then only as a pattern coin. It was issued again in small numbers in 1826, 1829 and 1839, with the last using the well-regarded depiction of Una and the Lion by William Wyon. Although the Una coin was for sale for almost half a century at the Royal Mint, only about 400 are believed to have been struck. In 1887, it was struck for the first time for circulation, and it was struck also in 1893 and 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Privy Council Of The United Kingdom
The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former members of either the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons or the House of Lords. The Privy Council formally advises the sovereign on the exercise of the Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom, royal prerogative. The King-in-Council issues Executive (government), executive instruments known as Orders in Council. The Privy Council also holds the delegated authority to issue Orders of Council, mostly used to regulate certain public institutions. It advises the sovereign on the issuing of royal charters, which are used to grant special status to incorporated bodies, and city status in the United Kingdom, city or Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status to local authorities. Otherwise, the Privy Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guinea (coin)
The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where much of the gold used to make the coins was sourced. It was the first English machine-struck gold coin, originally representing a value of 20 shillings in sterling specie, equal to one pound, but rises in the price of gold relative to silver caused the value of the guinea to increase, at times to as high as thirty shillings. From 1717 to 1816, its value was officially fixed at twenty-one shillings. In the Great Recoinage of 1816, the guinea was demonetised and replaced by the gold sovereign. Following the Great Recoinage, the word "guinea" was retained as a colloquial or specialised term, even though the coins were no longer in use; the term ''guinea'' also survived as a unit of account in some fields. Notable usages included professio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
