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SOVEREIGN , originally an See also:adjective, meaning " supreme," especially having supreme or See also:paramount See also:power. The word in See also:Middle See also:English was soverain or sovereyn, and was taken through Old See also:French from See also:Low Latin superanus, See also:chief, See also:principal. The intrusive " g," which is due to a popular confusion of the termination of the word with " reign," See also:dates, according to See also:Skeat, from about 1570. The See also:form " sovran," borrowed by See also:Milton from See also:Italian sovrano, See also:soprano, is chiefly found as a poetical usage. As a substantive " sovereign " is applied to the supreme See also:head of a See also:state (see See also:SOVEREIGNTY), and to the See also:standard English See also:gold See also:coin, See also:worth 20 shillings or £1 (see PGUND). The gold sovereign was first struck in the reign of See also:- HENRY
- HENRY (1129-1195)
- HENRY (c. 1108-1139)
- HENRY (c. 1174–1216)
- HENRY (Fr. Henri; Span. Enrique; Ger. Heinrich; Mid. H. Ger. Heinrich and Heimrich; O.H.G. Haimi- or Heimirih, i.e. " prince, or chief of the house," from O.H.G. heim, the Eng. home, and rih, Goth. reiks; compare Lat. rex " king "—" rich," therefore " mig
- HENRY, EDWARD LAMSON (1841– )
- HENRY, JAMES (1798-1876)
- HENRY, JOSEPH (1797-1878)
- HENRY, MATTHEW (1662-1714)
- HENRY, PATRICK (1736–1799)
- HENRY, PRINCE OF BATTENBERG (1858-1896)
- HENRY, ROBERT (1718-1790)
- HENRY, VICTOR (1850– )
- HENRY, WILLIAM (1795-1836)
Henry VII. (1489); it was of gold of the standard fineness (994.8) and weighed 240 grains. Itbore the figure of the See also:- KING
- KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
- KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
- KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
- KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
- KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
- KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
- KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
- KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
- KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
- KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
- KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)
king crowned, in royal See also:mantle, seated on the See also:throne, and holding the See also:sceptre and See also:orb. The sovereign was coined in successive reigns until that of See also:- JAMES
- JAMES (Gr. 'IlrKw,l3or, the Heb. Ya`akob or Jacob)
- JAMES (JAMES FRANCIS EDWARD STUART) (1688-1766)
- JAMES, 2ND EARL OF DOUGLAS AND MAR(c. 1358–1388)
- JAMES, DAVID (1839-1893)
- JAMES, EPISTLE OF
- JAMES, GEORGE PAYNE RAINSFOP
- JAMES, HENRY (1843— )
- JAMES, JOHN ANGELL (1785-1859)
- JAMES, THOMAS (c. 1573–1629)
- JAMES, WILLIAM (1842–1910)
- JAMES, WILLIAM (d. 1827)
James I., when the name " unite " was given to the coin to See also:mark the See also:union of the two kingdoms. The gold coinage of the See also:kingdom was, until 1816, a secondary See also:part of the monetary See also:system, but in that See also:year the See also:silver standard was discontinued and a •gold standard adopted. The sovereign was chosen the new unit of the currency, and the first issue took See also:place in 1817. Its See also:weight was fixed at 123.274 grains; its fineness at 916.66 or twenty-two carats. These See also:standards of weight and fineness are those still in force. At the . same See also:- TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
- TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
- TIME, STANDARD
time was issued the See also:half-sovereign, of weight in proportion. The weight of 9342 sovereigns is exactly See also:equivalent to twenty See also:Troy pounds, and the weight of each individual sovereign is calculated on this basis. The sovereign is eleven-twelfths pure gold and one-twelfth alloy, See also:copper being usual. The See also:light See also:colour of See also:early Australian sovereigns was due to the use of silver instead of copper. Five-See also:pound pieces were coined in the reigns of See also:Queen See also:Victoria and See also:Edward VII. They were also authorized in the reign of See also:George III. (as were two-pound pieces), but the See also:dies were not completed before the See also:death of that sovereign. Specimens were, however, subsequently struck. There were also some See also:pattern pieces struck in the reign of George IV. Two-pound pieces were issued in the reign of George IV.; they were struck in the reign of See also:- WILLIAM
- WILLIAM (1143-1214)
- WILLIAM (1227-1256)
- WILLIAM (1J33-1584)
- WILLIAM (A.S. Wilhelm, O. Norse Vilhidlmr; O. H. Ger. Willahelm, Willahalm, M. H. Ger. Willehelm, Willehalm, Mod.Ger. Wilhelm; Du. Willem; O. Fr. Villalme, Mod. Fr. Guillaume; from " will," Goth. vilja, and " helm," Goth. hilms, Old Norse hidlmr, meaning
- WILLIAM (c. 1130-C. 1190)
- WILLIAM, 13TH
William IV., but not issued for circulation; they are current coins of the reigns of Victoria and Edward VII.
End of Article: SOVEREIGN
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