Canadian Sovereign Coins

Here's a site with all the info on sovereigns.
http://www.goldsovereigns.co.uk/min...ntmarks.html
canadian ones will have a c mintmark.

hmm, not sure but I suspect that yes they would be.

I don't believe they circulated here,but banks used them (as well as US gold) to legally back their note issues.

Yes, those sovereigns are debated by many as to whether or not they classify under Canadian coinage, British coinage, or both.

They were minted here for use across the pond, but the C mintmark makes some think of them as Canadian coinage.

IMHO, they are British coinage. You don't see the British including all of the Canadian coins with an H mint mark in their sets and books, just because they were made in Britain.

I can say this because I'm Canadian, but I guess we can be pretty proud sometimes, eh?

That's just my opinion, and you are entitled to think whatever you want. In the end, they are very attractive coins.

The Sydney Mint Sovereign (and it's half) are probably the only coins in the world in any metal, where the whole reverse design is a mint mark.

The obverse is very similar to the Victorian coins of Newfoundland, but in the case of the Sydney mint coins, Vikkie wears a garland of Australian native Banksia leaves.
They are both L.C. Wyon designs.

In the case of the Australian sovereigns, they were used to make overseas payments, principally to India. The half sovereigns circulated, and as a result are rare in MS grades.

I guess that the Canadian sovereigns were also used for overseas payments, or as a backing to the note issue, and did not circulate. If that is the case, it would follow that Canadian sovereigns would be scarcer in lower grades, and easier to find in EF or better.

I believe the answer to your question is, "yes". They are considered both.

They are considered part of the Canadian series, in that they are listed in the Canadian coin catalogues. They are also listed in the Krause world coin catalogues under "Canada" rather than "Great Britain", just as the Australian, Indian and South African sovereigns are listed under their country of mintage; only London Mint sovereigns are listed under Great Britain.

However, they are also firmly considered, by collectors in Britain especially, to be part of the British coin series. As such, they are listed in the Spink catalogue of British coins, alongside the London and other colonial-minted coins. By comparison, British Trade Dollars, minted in India for use in China and Southeast Asia, are not listed in Spink, even though those are listed under "Great Britain" in the Krause catalogues.

Sovereigns - not just Canadian ones, but any sovereigns from any mint in the Empire - were legal tender in Canada, with an official face value of $4.86 and 2/3 of a cent. As far as I can tell, they did not circulate very much between individual people - the odd fractional face value would have been awkward to make change for - but sovereigns would likely have "circulated" between the banks, government and major businesses if payment in gold was deemed necessary. Thirty sovereigns made exactly $146.

Thank a lot Sap!

Very informative.I guess i'll just consider them as Canadian since Canada was part of the Empire at that time and they were minted from Canadian gold on Canadian soil!

really appreciate all the info!

I collect and sell Canadian coins and certainly consider the C-mintmarked sovereigns to be part of the Canadian series. I even have a rare 1913-C sovereign in MS63 PCGS, one of the keys to the series (second to the 1916-C). Nonetheless they are curiosities in that they use the British currency system while at the same time Canada was issuing five and ten dollar gold coins using the decimal (U.S.) system.

Good luck with your collecting. Personally I love the Jubilee Head sovereigns and the Shield Backs as well.

Best Regards,

George
VDB Coins