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GoldPaid buys gold half sovereigns by post from anywhere in the UK, from George III to Charles III. Each half sovereign holds 3.66g of fine gold, half a full sovereign. Send a photo of both sides on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value your coins before you post anything. Half sovereigns minted in 1837 or later are not chargeable assets for Capital Gains Tax.
Send a photo on WhatsApp for a rough estimate where possible, or arrange to post your items for assessment. We confirm our purchase offer after inspection, and you decide whether to accept. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
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Please send us photos on WhatsApp, and we will help you.
Send photos of your items and any hallmarks. We give a rough estimate where possible; your final offer follows inspection. You do not need to arrange postage to ask us a question.
We arrange postage with you after our conversation.
The questions people ask before they send anything, answered here rather than at the end of the page.
Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
Half sovereigns are small, light and easy to post, which makes them a practical coin to sell by mail. Each carries 3.66 grams of fine gold, and we buy issues from George III’s 1817 coin through to the current Charles III series. Rare dates and proof issues can be worth more than their gold, so send a photo of both sides on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value yours before you post anything. Request a free prepaid Royal Mail label, post the coins, and take bank payment on acceptance.
The British half sovereign has been struck to the same technical specification since 1817 (with a hiatus between 1937 and 1980 when production paused for general circulation). Each half sovereign is exactly half of a full sovereign: 3.994 grams gross weight, 22ct (916) gold, giving 3.66 grams of pure gold per coin or 0.1177 of a troy ounce.
The diameter is 19.3mm and the thickness is just over 1mm. Half sovereigns are small enough that several can be posted in a single small jiffy bag with no weight concerns, but weight is not the constraint. A handful of coins can be worth more than a standard parcel is covered for, so tell us the number of coins before a label is issued.
Half sovereigns were minted under every monarch from George III to Elizabeth II, with the current Charles III series resuming in 2023. Common-date Victorian, Edward VII and George V half sovereigns trade close to their gold value. Rare dates do exist within those reigns, particularly certain branch-mint issues from Australia and South Africa.
The half sovereigns most likely to be worth more than their gold are: George III, George IV and William IV issues from before 1837; Edward VIII patterns, which were never issued; certain Victorian branch-mint dates; and Royal Mint proof issues in their original cases.
Half sovereigns circulated as everyday gold coins in the UK until the First World War, so they turn up in inherited coin boxes. A box of ten or twenty can add up to a meaningful sum, even if nobody in the family has looked at it for years. If you are clearing an estate, selling inherited jewellery covers the practical steps.
Half sovereigns are small and light. A parcel of twenty weighs only about 80 grams but can be worth well over a standard parcel's cover. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post. Tell us how many coins you have before a label is issued, and a larger lot can travel in more than one parcel, each with its own prepaid label and tracking number.
Each coin should be wrapped individually in tissue or a small coin envelope to prevent rim damage in transit. Half sovereigns are often kept in coin tubes; the tube can travel as it is, with extra padding around it in the outer parcel.
Your parcel is signed for on arrival and opened at our Bristol office, where each item is weighed and XRF-tested before the written offer is prepared.
Every parcel is opened at our Bristol office and each piece is handled on its own. Nothing is averaged across the parcel.
Why we do not publish a per-gram price list. A single printed rate hides the things that change the figure: hollow versus solid, stones, mixed carats in one bag, a mark that does not match the metal. We would rather show you the weight, the tested purity and the figure for each item, in writing, and let you decide. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
What you see before you decide. A written, itemised offer by WhatsApp or email: every item, its weight, its tested purity, and its figure. Accept and we aim to pay by bank transfer within one working hour. Decline and the whole parcel comes back by Royal Mail Special Delivery at our cost. No fee, no deduction, no questions.
The prepaid label is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: full tracking and a signature on delivery. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post. For higher-value items, please message us first so the parcel can be split across more than one prepaid label before it travels. Postage and cover explains it fully. If a parcel is lost on its way to us, the compensation claim goes to Royal Mail from you, the sender, using your Post Office receipt, and we give you our tracking records and help you make it. Lost parcels, step by step.
You are free to walk away at any point before you accept. Decline the offer and everything is repacked and returned to you free of charge, fully tracked and signed for. There is no assessment fee and no sales pressure afterwards. The detail is on what happens if I decline the offer.
The written offer is dated and holds for a limited time, because metal prices move. If it lapses before you decide, we re-run it against the live precious-metal market on the day, at no charge. You can also accept part of a parcel and decline the rest, with no minimum and no penalty for splitting it.
When you say yes to the written offer, GoldPaid aims to pay by Faster Payments bank transfer within one working hour of your acceptance, to your nominated account. You give those details only at the point you accept, never as a condition of getting an offer.
Three differences from a counter sale. You see a measured valuation in writing, not a verbal estimate. You decide at home, with nobody waiting. And if you decline, the return is free, tracked and signed for, so obtaining the valuation costs you nothing.
No. A half sovereign holds exactly half the fine gold of a full sovereign, in the same 22ct alloy, so gram for gram the gold content is the same.
Yes. Branch-mint half sovereigns (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Pretoria mint marks) hold the same gold as London strikes, and a scarce date can be worth more. Send a photo of the mint mark first.
You do not need to. Each coin is identified by year and mint mark on arrival and listed on your written offer.
Often, yes. Half sovereigns of George III, George IV and William IV are scarce enough to sell above their gold value, depending on date and condition.
Photograph the coins on WhatsApp first. We can identify them from a clear photo of obverse and reverse before you commit to posting anything.
Not the question you had? The full GoldPaid FAQ covers the rest, from postal cover and ID checks to what happens if you decline the offer.
Please send us photos on WhatsApp, and we will help you. We give a rough estimate where possible and arrange postage with you after our conversation. Your final offer follows inspection.
Message us with a clear photo of your items on WhatsApp, or call. There is no obligation at any stage and the only commitment is your decision to accept a written offer once you have seen it.
We give rough estimates where possible; your final offer follows inspection. We arrange postage with you after our conversation.
No obligation. Free tracked return if you decline. We aim to pay within one working hour of acceptance.