1893-1901 Victoria ‘Veiled Head’ Gold Sovereign

Victoria’s final effigy was commissioned and produced in 1893, when Victoria was 74 years old, and is often referred to as the ‘Old Head’ or ‘Veiled Head’ design. Created by Thomas Brock, it is the image of Victoria that often appears on pub signs across the United Kingdom. It is in this interpretation that she seems the most relatable. Although wearing the regalia of the empire – a diamond-and-sapphire tiara, a diamond necklace, pearl earrings – she seems at her most human.

Perhaps it is for that reason that the Old Head image is the one we tend to connect most readily to Victoria. She was queen and the face of an empire upon which the sun never set, but she was also a mother and a grandmother, as well as a passionate and artistic woman who bore the responsibility of her role for more than 60 years.