What is the purity in karats of the British Gold Sovereign?

The British Gold Sovereign is made from 22-karat gold.

Twenty-two karats means 22 parts gold out of 24, or approximately 91.67% gold. The remaining metal is chiefly copper, with small amounts of other alloying metals depending on the issue. This composition gives the coin greater durability than 24-karat gold, which is purer but softer.

The modern sovereign standard dates from the 1817 reintroduction of the coin during the reign of George III. The familiar reverse shows St George slaying the dragon, a design created by Italian engraver Benedetto Pistrucci. The sovereign has since become one of Britain’s best-known gold coins for collectors and investors.

A full sovereign weighs about 7.988 grams and contains approximately 7.322 grams—one-quarter of a troy ounce—of pure gold. “22 karats” describes purity, not the coin’s face value or its age. The coin is often mistaken for 24-karat bullion because it is a gold coin, but the alloy is deliberately less than pure gold.