The double sovereign was first minted in 1820 and depicted George III, but this issue never entered circulation, instead being considered a pattern coin.

[5] Since 1754, there had been no issuance of coins more valuable than a guinea intended for general circulation; the need for higher value tender had been met by banknotes.

[6] The Saint George and the Dragon design was suggested as an appropriate motif for the sovereign by its creator, Benedetto Pistrucci, based on a cameo he had carved.

[7] Sir Joseph Banks also recommended to William Wellesley-Pole, the Master of the Mint, that Pistrucci's design be adapted for use on the coinage.

[6] In December 1819, possibly because of the decline in the health of King George III (r. 1760–1820), Wellesley-Pole instructed Pistrucci, who was then acting as chief engraver of the Royal Mint, to prepare dies for the double sovereign (two pounds) and the five-pound piece.

[8] The double sovereign, designed by Pistrucci, depicts the right-facing bust of the king with the legend GEORGIUS III D G BRITANNIAR REX F D (George III by the Grace of God King of the Britains, Defender of the Faith) and the date, while the reverse shows Pistrucci's George and Dragon design with no legend or date.

[10] The reverse design has Pistrucci's initials at the lower right, whilst lettering on the edge states DECUS ET TUTAMEN ANNO REGNI LX (An ornament and a safeguard; in the sixtieth year of the reign).

[13] The 1824, 1825 and 1826 proof coins feature a smaller head of the king, by William Wyon, with the legend GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA (George IV by the grace of God ...) and the date, while the reverse (by Merlen) shows a crowned shield within a mantle cape with the legend BRITANNIARUM REX FID DEF (King of the Britains, defender of the faith).

The obverse, by Wyon based on a bust by Chantrey, shows a right-facing head of the king with the legend GULIELMUS IIII D G BRITANNIAR REX F D (William IV by the Grace of God King of the Britains, Defender of the Faith), while the reverse, by Merlen, shows a crowned shield with the legend ANNO 1831 (in the year 1831).

[14] Kevin Clancy of the Royal Mint notes the gap of over a half century and deems it an illustration of how small a part the two-pound and five-pound pieces played in the everyday life of the Victorian era.

[17] In 1887, the double sovereign was struck as part of the Jubilee coinage, with an obverse depicting Queen Victoria (r. 1837–1901) by Joseph Boehm and Pistrucci's George and Dragon reverse.

Richard Lobel, in his Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, deems the 1887 issue the "best known and most popular example of this denomination",[18] something borne out by its mintage of 91,345 in uncirculated and 797 in proof, the highest of any double sovereign.

[27] Double sovereigns dated 1911 were struck as part of the coronation proof sets that year for George V (r. 1910–1936), but for uncertain reasons, no ordinary, non-proof specimens were coined.

The new king wanted his profile to face left on the new coinage, the same way as his father, which would break a tradition to reverse the direction on the commencement of a new reign which dated back to 1660.

A small number of gold £2 pieces, with an obverse by Mary Gillick, were struck in 1953 in order to provide continuity of the series, but the coins were not released to the public, and were placed only in museums and in the Royal Collection.

[34] The Royal Mint realised there was a market for sovereign coins, and began to sell them to collectors at well over face or bullion value.

[37][38] The special designs for the reverse which were substituted for Pistrucci's included one for Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee in 2002 (by Timothy Noad, depicting a crowned shield within a wreath), in 2005 (a more modern interpretation of the George and Dragon, also by Noad) and in 2012 for Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee (another modern interpretation of the George and Dragon, by Paul Day).

[42][43] Later in the year, following the death of Elizabeth II, the Royal Mint issued memorial coins in the sovereign range, including the double sovereign, featuring an interpretation of the Royal Arms by Clark as the reverse, and for the obverse, the first coinage portrait of Elizabeth's successor, Charles III (r. 2022– ), by Martin Jennings.

[44] In 2023, a double sovereign commemorating the coronation of Charles III was struck, with the obverse a crowned portrait of the king by Jennings and the reverse the Pistrucci George and Dragon.