![George III, Sovereign, 1820 [ECM-254] - Image 2](https://colonialcoins.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ECM-254-1.jpg)
Description
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, George III of the House of Hanover, King of the United Kingdom 1760-1820 AD, Gold Sovereign (7.92g, 22mm), 1820, Royal mint London. Obverse: Laureate head of King George III facing to the right, ‘normal’ date with ‘open 2’ below, legend surrounds, “GEORGIUS III D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F:D:”. Reverse: Saint George of Lydda, bare except for his plumed helmet and billowing cloak, rears his horse above the defeated Dragon of Silene, he wields his broken lance, Ascalon, the end remains embedded and the shaft rests to the left on the exergual ground-line above the engraver’s initials ‘B.P’ (Benedetto Pistrucci) incuse, buckled garter bearing the motto “HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE” surrounds, mint master’s initials ‘wwp’ (William Wellesley Pole) on buckle. Marsh-4. Calendar year mintage of 931,994. A type example of the normal date open 2 sovereign of 1820, evenly (and well!) worn with devices clear, details Fair.
The obverse Latin legend reads unabridged as “Geōrgius tertius, Deī grātiā, Britanniārum Rēx, Fideī Dēfēnsor”, with an English translation of “George the Third, by the Grace of God, King of the British People, Defender of the Faith”. The reverse legend on the shield garter is the motto of the British chivalric Order of the Garter and is stated in full in Middle French / Anglo-Norman as “honi soit qui mal y pense”, with an English meaning of “shame on anyone who thinks evil of it”.
