ilver coinage was also a victim of the First World War. Higher metal prices after the war meant that from 1920 the amount of silver was reduced from the centuries-old 925 sterling standard to an alloy containing only 500 parts to every 1,000. A point had been reached in the ascent of the price of silver where the bullion value was higher than the face value – something had to give. Changing the silver content of coins didn’t always go according to plan and members of the public reported coins exhibiting unusual colours.
Soon after the Second World War, the use of silver in British coinage was abandoned altogether when The Royal Mint replaced it with cupro-nickel in 1947. With the United States calling in war loans, 88 million ounces of silver was taken out of the nation’s pockets to help fund repayments.
Financing war sometimes requires secrecy and subterfuge to ensure sources of funding can be maintained. During the Napoleonic Wars, the British government worked covertly with the Rothschild banking family to help its war effort. Gold and silver coins from across the world were collected by the family in order to finance 20 years of war against France, which ended at the Battle of Waterloo.
Coins of Nathan Rothschild
Nathan Rothschild had agents across the world who supplied local currency via trading ships and lent to the British government. Coins from far and wide poured into England to pay the wages of the British soldiers and Nathan Rothschild kept a sample coin from each of these shipments.
First World War Sovereigns
Hugh Carson Andrews, a clerk at the Bank of England, was unexpectedly called upon to assist with top secret missions during the First World War. He accompanied several shipments of gold Sovereigns from the Bank of England to Amsterdam, in order to support the Dutch Exchange, and to New York, to fund the expenses of war.
The value of the shipments and the threat of German submarine attacks required absolute secrecy. Andrews carried letters of introduction with his signature to verify his identity to the agents he met in the Netherlands and United States.
Behind Enemy Lines
Behind enemy lines, cash has been the preferred method of payment for military personnel and those working undercover. Trusted as a form of universal payment on account of its global reputation, British operatives, secret agents and members of the armed forces have been issued with gold Sovereigns in case of an emergency. These coins provide vital bargaining power in hostile situations and Sovereigns were used during the Gulf War in 1991, mainly by Royal Air Force (RAF) crews shot down over enemy territory.
From Russia With Love
Inspired by his experience in Naval Intelligence during the Second World War, Ian Fleming wove what he encountered into aspects of the James Bond stories. As a result, gold Sovereigns appear in Bond adventures as part of the agent’s kit.
In the 1963 Bond film From Russia With Love, James Bond, portrayed by Sean Connery, is issued with a black leather attaché case by Q Branch – although this was no ordinary case. Stowed away in secret compartments were 40 rounds of ammunition, a throwing knife and ‘in case hard cash was needed’ 50 gold Sovereigns hidden in the lining.