United Kingdom | |
| Value | £0.25 pound sterling |
|---|---|
| Mass | 1.997 g |
| Diameter | 13.5 mm |
| Edge | Milled |
| Composition | .917 gold, .083 copper or other metals |
| Gold | .0588 troy oz |
| Years of minting | 2009–present |
| Obverse | |
 | |
| Design | Reigning British monarch (Elizabeth II shown) |
| Reverse | |
 | |
| Design | Saint George and the Dragon |
| Designer | Benedetto Pistrucci |
| Design date | 1817 (first used on quarter sovereign in 2009) |
The quarter sovereign is a British gold bullion and collector's coin, issued by the Royal Mint since 2009. The smallest in the sovereign range, it has a face value of 25 pence.
In 1853, the Royal Mint produced two patterns for a quarter sovereign for circulation, with one denominated as five shillings.[a] These coins never went into production, due to concerns about their small size and the likely wear in circulation. Gold passed from circulation in the aftermath of the First World War.
Beginning in 1979, the Royal Mint began to sell sovereigns to those wishing to own gold coins, by the following year selling four different denominations, ranging from the half sovereign to the five-pound gold coin. In 2009, a quarter sovereign was introduced as an extension of this range. The quarter sovereign shares the same design as the larger coins, depicting on the obverse the reigning monarch, Elizabeth II or, since 2022, Charles III. Although there are some one-year designs, the one most often used on the reverse of these issues is Benedetto Pistrucci's depiction of Saint George and the Dragon, which was first used on the sovereign in 1817.
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