The sovereign is a British gold coin with a nominal value of one pound sterling (£1) and contains 0.2354 troy oz of pure gold. Struck since 1817, it was originally a 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 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 reverse; the initials of the designer, Benedetto Pistrucci, are visible to the right of the date.
Image: 1959 sovereign Elizabeth II obverse
Image: 1959 Elizabeth II sovereign reverse
Sovereign of Queen Mary I, c. 1553
A £1 note issued in 1814 by the Gloucester Old Bank
Sterling is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word pound is also used to refer to the British currency generally, often qualified in international contexts as the British pound or the pound sterling.
The Hatter's hat shows an example of the old pre-decimal notation: the hat costs 10/6 (ten shillings and sixpence, a half guinea).
A pound = 20 shillings = 240 silver pennies (formerly)
King Offa penny (eighth century)
Penny of Henry III, 13th century