Item number: A1346

Year: AD 1817

Material: Gold

Size: 21.0 x 21.0 mm

Manufactured by: Royal Mint

Provenance: Heritage Auctions 2023

This is a 1 Sovereign gold coin, minted in AD 1817 during the reign of King George III of the United Kingdom and circulated thereafter. The Sovereign was an old unit of currency in England, with the portrait on the obverse changing to reflect the ruler of the time. The mould for this gold coin was created by the Italian jewelry engraver Benedetto Pistrucci (AD 1783–1855), whose work is evident in the relief of St. George vs. the Dragon.

In the centre of the obverse of the coin is the right-facing portrait of King George III (AD 1738-1820) of England, surrounded by the Latin inscription “GEORGIUS III D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F:D: 1817”, whose full Latin spelling is “Georgius III Dei Gratia Britanniarum Rex Fidei Defensor Indiae Imperator.” “Dei Gratia” means by the grace of God, “Britanniarum Omnium” means Great Britain, “REX” means king, “Fidei Defensor” means “defender of the faith”, and the full meaning of the inscription is “George III by the grace of God King of Great Britain Defender of the Faith 1817.”

In AD 1738, George III was born in London and is most widely remembered for the loss of the American colonies, which is often associated with his descent into madness. However, the independence of the thirteen North American states cannot be directly attributed to George III himself, mainly because the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in AD 1765 and the Townshend Acts in AD 1767, which taxed tea, paper and other products.

George III experienced severe episodes of illness between AD 1788 and AD 1789, as well as in AD 1801. By AD 1810, he had permanently lost his mental faculties. As a result, from AD 1811 onwards, George III retired as regent and his eldest son, George IV, assumed the position of king. Some later medical historians believe that George III’s mental instability was caused by a genetic disorder called Porphyria.

The reverse of the coin features a relief depicting the Christian biblical story of Saint George slaying the dragon. In this tale, Saint George is a revered Christian soldier who one day encounters a village plagued by a dragon. The dragon continually demanded sacrifices from the villagers, and after all the livestock had been offered, the villagers were forced to use human beings as tribute.

One day, a princess volunteered to sacrifice herself to the dragon. As she wept before the dragon’s lair, she encountered Saint George passing through the area. The princess shared the tale of the dragon’s cruelty and urged Saint George to leave for his own safety. However, Saint George refused and instead successfully slew the dragon. The villagers, moved by Saint George’s righteous act, renounced their pagan beliefs and converted to Christianity.

The outer edge of the reverse features the Latin inscription “HONI · SOIT · QUI · MAL · Y · PENSE,” which translates to “Shame on him who thinks evil of it.” This is an ancient Norman proverb passed down from the medieval English ruling class and is also the motto of the “Most Noble Order of the Garter.”

The term “Sovereign” was historically used in the United Kingdom to refer to a gold coin with a value equivalent to one pound sterling. The creation of the Sovereign is closely linked to the passage of the Liverpool’s Act in AD 1816.

Between the outbreak of the French Revolution in AD 1792 and the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars in AD 1815, Britain incurred substantial military and economic expenditures in its competition with France for dominance in Europe. These costs extended beyond domestic spending, as Britain also financed its allies, including Austria, Prussia, and Russia. This immense financial burden led to a shortage crisis in the country’s existing silver standard currency.

To restore Britain’s economic strength, Parliament passed the Liverpool’s Act, which introduced the gold standard currency, including the Sovereign, and established new exchange rates between gold and silver to stabilise the economy.

Since AD 1817, when the Sovereign became a circulating currency in the United Kingdom, it spread further with the expansion of the British Empire, circulating in many countries and colonies around the world. It was not until the outbreak of World War I in AD 1914 that the Sovereign was replaced by newly issued banknotes in Britain. However, in the Middle East, influenced by British monetary practises, the Sovereign continued to be used as a denomination of currency until it was replaced in the 1950s.

物件編號: A1346

年代: 公元 1817 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 21.0 x 21.0 mm

製造地: 皇家鑄幣廠

來源: 海瑞德拍賣 2023

這是一枚英國國王喬治三世任內，於公元1817年鑄造和流通的1索維林金幣。索維林是英國舊時流通的貨幣單位，正面的人像會隨著時任統治者進行變動。這枚金幣的模具由義大利珠寶雕刻師貝內代托·皮斯特魯奇(公元1783至1855年)操刀，其得意之作為出現在這枚金幣上的聖喬治大戰惡龍的浮雕。

硬幣正面中央是時任英國國王的喬治三世(公元1738至1820年)的右側頭像，頭像周圍環繞著拉丁銘文「GEORGIUS III D:G: BRITANNIAR:REX F:D: 1817」，其完整的拉丁拼法是「Georgius III Dei Gratia Britanniarum  Rex Fidei Defensor Indiae Imperator」。「Dei Gratia」意思是蒙上帝恩典，「Britanniarum Omnium」為大不列顛，「REX」為國王，「Fidei Defensor」為「信仰的捍衛者」，銘文的完整意思是「喬治三世 蒙上帝恩典 大不列顛國王 信仰的捍衛者1817」。

公元1738年，喬治三世出生於倫敦，最為世人所知的印象是美洲殖民地的失去使他變得瘋狂。然而北美十三州的獨立不能直接歸咎於喬治三世本人，主因是英國議會先後在公元1765年通過〈印花稅法〉和公元1767年針對茶葉、紙張及其他產品徵稅的〈湯森法令〉才是導致美國獨立的原因。喬治三世於公元1788至1789年和公元1801年經歷嚴重的發病，於公元1810年永久失去理智。因此公元1811年起，喬治三世退而成為攝政王，國君一職由其長子喬治四世負責。後世的部分醫學史學家認為，喬治三世的精神不穩定是由一種名為「紫質症」遺傳性疾病引起的。

硬幣背面是基督教經典故事的聖喬治大戰惡龍浮雕，在這個故事中，聖喬治是一名受到景仰的基督徒士兵，有一天經過一座苦於惡龍騷擾的村莊。這條惡龍不斷向村民索討祭品，當村莊的牲畜都獻祭出去後，村民只能被迫以活人作為貢品。有一天一位公主自願犧牲自己成為祭品，當公主在惡龍的巢穴前哭泣時遇到經過的聖喬治。公主向聖喬治傾訴惡龍的殘暴和勸他盡快離開，但是聖喬治選擇拒絕並成功斬殺惡龍。村民們為聖喬治的義舉感化，就此放棄異教和皈依基督信仰。

背面的外圍有一圈拉丁銘文「HONI · SOIT · QUI · MAL · Y · PENSE」其意思是「心懷邪念者蒙羞」，為一種英國統治階級自中世紀流傳下來的古諾曼語格言，同時還是英國「最高貴的嘉德勳章」使用的座右銘。

「索維林」是英國舊時對於金幣的稱呼，其價值相當於1英鎊，索維林的誕生和公元1816年英國通過的〈利物浦法案〉習習相關。公元1792年法國大革命爆發一直到公元1815年拿破崙戰爭的落幕，英國為了跟法國競爭歐洲的霸權地位付出龐大的軍事和經濟開銷，不僅是在國內還需要負擔奧地利、普魯士和俄羅斯等盟友的花費，使得英國過去的銀本位貨幣陷入短缺危機。為了重振英國的經濟實力，國會通過了〈利物浦法案〉推出索維林等金本位的貨幣和制定新的金銀兌換比例以穩定經濟。

自公元1817年，索維林成為英國境內的流通貨幣後，進一步隨著大英帝國的擴張，流通到世界上的許多國家和殖民地。直到公元1914年第一次世界大戰的爆發，索維林在英國本土才為新發行的紙幣所取代。然而在受到英國影響的中東地區，索維林作為一種貨幣的面額直到公元1950年代遭到替換為止。