Queen Victoria (1837-1901)

Queen Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she was the first Empress of India of the British Raj. Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III. Both the Duke of Kent and the King died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne at the age of 18 after her father's three elder brothers died without surviving legitimate issue. She ascended the throne when the United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy, in which the Sovereign held relatively few direct political powers.

Privately, she attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments. Publicly, she became the iconic symbol of the nation and empire, and was identified with strict standards of personal morality. Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840. Their 9 children and 42 grandchildren married into royal families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the nickname "the grandmother of Europe".[1] After Albert's death in 1862, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength, but in the later half of her reign, her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration.

At 63 years and 7 months, her reign as the Queen lasted longer than that of any other British monarch, and is the longest of any female monarch in history. Her reign is known as the Victorian era, and was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military progress within the United Kingdom. It was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire, which reached its zenith and became the foremost global power. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover; her son and successor King Edward VII belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Queen Victoria Widow Head Gold Sovereigns

The Widow or Veiled head coinage marks the end of the Victorian era which spanned 64 years now the second longest of any remaining British Monarch to our present Queen Elizabeth II. The Royal Mint took the decision to replace the somewhat unpopular Jubilee bust sovereign, 6 designs were submitted by Royal Academy sculptors. The now famous Thomas Brock design was chosen to much acclaim, and was engraved into metal by the mints chief engraver George W De Saulles, who would later go on himself to design the obverse of the King Edward VII coinage. The Widow head coinage includes the initials T.B. under the queens bust, with new legend now including 'Empress of India'.

You will receive the date of your choice in About Extremely Fine condition with remaining lustre, and will be from one of the Mints operating at the time, London, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney. The Mint mark for Widow head sovereigns can be found within the ground line above the date on the reverse of the coin. NB: Sovereigns struck at the London Mint do not have a mint mark. Your full gold sovereign will be supplied within a luxury case unique to us as these are normally only supplied with special proof sovereigns supplied by the Royal Mint. 

These date examples are ideal as presents or will allow entire date run series to be collected at a pace which suits buyers. we also offer the entire 9 sovereign set within this listing (without box) should you wish to purchase as one collection.

We also offer specific sovereigns in our individual listings dated 1817-2020 should you be looking for a particular coin including many rare and early examples.

Queen’s veiled head crowned facing to the left, type often described as the 'Old or Widow head series'. Garter Riband and Star, initials 'T.P.' below truncation denoting engraver Thomas Brock. St.George mounted with sword attacking the dragon, date appears below the exergue (ground) line at the bottom with the small letters B.P. to the right.