2025 Royal Arms Five-Sovereign Gold Coin NGC MS70 Matte First Releases
The 2025 Royal Arms Five-Sovereign Gold Coin is a low-mintage modern British Sovereign issue produced by The Royal Mint in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
Issued as part of the 2025 Sovereign Collection, the coin commemorates 200 years since Jean Baptiste Merlen’s Royal Arms design first appeared on the Sovereign in 1825. The historic design was faithfully remastered using modern technology for the 2025 collection.
The Royal Mint confirms a:
Maximum Coin Mintage of just 360
for the 2025 Brilliant Uncirculated Five-Sovereign Piece.
This particular example has been independently authenticated and certified by Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) as:
MS70 MATTE
and carries the additional:
FIRST RELEASES
designation.
At the time of checking on 27 August 2026, the NGC certification information supplied for this coin records:
NGC MS70 Matte: 41
Higher Grades: 0
NGC Top Pop
With a Maximum Coin Mintage of only 360, the highest numerical NGC Mint State grade, First Releases designation and a population of only 41 in MS70 Matte at the time of checking, this is a particularly collectable certified example of the 2025 Royal Arms Five-Sovereign Piece.
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Why This Coin Stands Out
The 2025 Royal Arms Five-Sovereign brings together several important characteristics:
- Maximum Coin Mintage of just 360
- Royal Mint Brilliant Uncirculated issue
- Certified NGC MS70 Matte
- First Releases designation
- NGC MS70 Matte population of just 41
- 0 graded higher
- NGC Top Pop
- 200th anniversary of Merlen’s Royal Arms Sovereign design
- First Five-Sovereign Piece to pair Merlen’s Royal Arms with the official King Charles III portrait
- Final Five-Sovereign Piece struck in The Royal Mint’s rose-gold composition
- 39.94g weight
- Historic Jean Baptiste Merlen reverse
- Martin Jennings King Charles III obverse
The Royal Mint itself confirms the 360 Maximum Coin Mintage, the bicentenary Royal Arms design, the first pairing of these Royal Arms with King Charles III on a Five-Sovereign Piece and the significance of this being the final rose-gold Five-Sovereign.
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Specifications
- Year: 2025
- Country of Issue: United Kingdom
- Denomination: Five-Sovereign Piece
- Issuing Authority: The Royal Mint
- Metal: Gold
- Weight: 39.94g
- Diameter: 36.02mm
- Royal Mint Quality: Brilliant Uncirculated
- Edge: Milled
- Maximum Coin Mintage: 360
- Reverse Designer: Jean Baptiste Merlen
- Obverse Designer: Martin Jennings
- Grading Company: NGC
- NGC Grade: MS70 Matte
- Designation: First Releases
- NGC MS70 Matte Population: 41
- Higher Grades: 0
- NGC Status: Top Pop
- Population Checked: 27 August 2026
The Royal Mint directly confirms the Maximum Coin Mintage, weight, diameter, Brilliant Uncirculated quality, milled edge and both designers.
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A Maximum Coin Mintage of Just 360
The Royal Mint officially records a:
Maximum Coin Mintage: 360
for the 2025 Brilliant Uncirculated Five-Sovereign Piece.
This is an important distinction when considering the scarcity of the original Royal Mint issue.
The figure of 360 represents the Maximum Coin Mintage. It should not be interpreted as confirmation that exactly 360 examples were ultimately struck or sold.
Mintage should also be considered separately from the NGC population.
The Maximum Coin Mintage of 360 establishes the maximum number permitted for the Royal Mint issue, while the NGC population of 41 records how many examples were certified by NGC as MS70 Matte at the time of checking.
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Brilliant Uncirculated – Certified NGC MS70 Matte
The Royal Mint officially classifies the underlying coin as:
Brilliant Uncirculated
NGC has independently certified this particular example as:
MS70 MATTE
This distinction is important.
The coin should not be described as a Proof or PF70 Ultra Cameo issue. It belongs to the Brilliant Uncirculated Royal Mint issue and has been classified by NGC within its Mint State grading system.
NGC uses a numerical grading scale running from 1 to 70 and defines a grade of 70 as having no post-production imperfections at 5x magnification.
MS70 therefore represents the highest numerical Mint State grade available.
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NGC Population
At the time of checking on 27 August 2026, the NGC certification information supplied for this coin records:
NGC MS70 Matte: 41
Higher Grades: 0
NGC Top Pop
Only 41 examples were therefore recorded in MS70 Matte under this NGC classification at the time of checking.
As MS70 is the highest numerical Mint State grade, there is no higher numerical grade.
The original mintage and NGC population measure two different things:
Maximum Coin Mintage: 360
NGC MS70 Matte Population: 41
Population figures can change as additional coins are submitted to NGC, which is why Sterling Bullion Partners records the date on which the population was checked.
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NGC First Releases
This example also carries NGC’s:
FIRST RELEASES
designation.
NGC awards First Releases to selected coins received by NGC or an NGC-approved depository within the first 30 days of the coin’s release.
The designation relates to the coin meeting NGC’s qualifying submission period.
It does not establish that this particular coin was one of the first examples physically struck by The Royal Mint.
Combined with the MS70 Matte grade, First Releases provides an additional certification characteristic for this particular example.
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The Royal Arms Design
The reverse features the historic Royal Arms design by Jean Baptiste Merlen.
Merlen’s design first appeared on the Sovereign in 1825.
For the 2025 Sovereign Collection, The Royal Mint faithfully remastered the design using modern technology to commemorate its 200th anniversary.
The detailed heraldic composition provides a distinctive alternative to Benedetto Pistrucci’s St George and the Dragon design more commonly associated with the modern Sovereign.
The substantial 36.02mm Five-Sovereign format also provides a larger canvas on which Merlen’s Royal Arms can be appreciated.
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The King Charles III Obverse
The obverse carries the official coinage portrait of His Majesty King Charles III, designed by British sculptor Martin Jennings.
The 2025 Five-Sovereign Piece is particularly significant because The Royal Mint identifies it as the first time Merlen’s Royal Arms design and the official King Charles III coinage portrait have appeared together on a Five-Sovereign Piece.
This brings together a reverse originating during the reign of George IV with the definitive coinage portrait of King Charles III.
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The Final Rose-Gold Five-Sovereign
The 2025 issue also marks an important transition in the history of the Sovereign.
The Royal Mint confirms that this is the last edition of the Five-Sovereign Piece to be struck in rose gold at The Royal Mint.
More broadly, The Royal Mint announced that the 2025 Sovereign Collection represented the final opportunity to acquire its Sovereigns in the rose-gold composition before gold Sovereigns returned to yellow gold from 2026.
The 2025 Royal Arms Five-Sovereign therefore brings together two notable historical elements:
200 years since Merlen’s Royal Arms first appeared on the Sovereign
and
the final rose-gold Five-Sovereign Piece.
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A Substantial Five-Sovereign Gold Coin
The Five-Sovereign Piece is one of the largest traditional denominations within the Sovereign family.
The Royal Mint specifies a total coin weight of:
39.94g
and a diameter of:
36.02mm.
Its larger format provides considerable physical presence while allowing the detail of Merlen’s Royal Arms design to be displayed across a substantially larger surface than the standard Sovereign denominations.
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A Modern British Numismatic Gold Coin
The 2025 Royal Arms Five-Sovereign NGC MS70 Matte First Releases combines:
360 Maximum Coin Mintage
NGC MS70 Matte
First Releases
NGC population of 41
0 higher / Top Pop
200th anniversary Royal Arms design
First Royal Arms Five-Sovereign paired with King Charles III
Final rose-gold Five-Sovereign
39.94g gold coin
These characteristics give this particular example a clear numismatic identity beyond its underlying precious-metal content.
With only 360 permitted under the stated Maximum Coin Mintage and 41 examples recorded in MS70 Matte at the time of checking, this is a particularly limited certified example from a significant year in the modern history of the Sovereign.
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Image Information
The slab images shown are digitally produced representations for presentation purposes, with certification numbers and barcodes omitted.
The detailed close-up coin photographs show the actual coin offered for sale.
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Why Buy from Sterling Bullion Partners?
Every certified coin offered by Sterling Bullion Partners is carefully selected for its quality, authenticity and collector appeal.
When purchasing from Sterling Bullion Partners, you benefit from:
- Carefully selected certified coins
- Independently authenticated and professionally graded examples
- Detailed close-up photographs of the actual coin offered for sale
- Fully insured UK delivery
- Secure protective packaging
- Experienced customer support
- A UK precious-metals dealer committed to accuracy and transparency
With a Maximum Coin Mintage of just 360, NGC MS70 Matte certification, First Releases designation and an NGC population of only 41 at the time of checking, the 2025 Royal Arms Five-Sovereign represents a distinctive certified example from the final year of the rose-gold Sovereign.
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