Brits urged to look out for 'fine specimen' of rare £30k coin linked to UK's economic state following the First World War

The 1917 George V Gold Sovereign is considered to be one of the rarest British coins of the 10th century and is linked to the UK's economic state following the First World War.

Brits are being urged to look out for a "fine specimen" of a coin that could now be worth tens of thousands of pounds.

The 1917 George V Gold Sovereign is one of the rarest British coins of the 20th century and is linked to the UK's economic state following the First World War.

Featuring a knight on horseback slaying a dragon on one side, and the eponymously named monarch on the other - this 22 Carat gold coin was designed by Bertram MacKennal and Benedetto Pistrucci and weighs almost 8g and has a diameter of 22.05mm. For reference, the modern-day £1 coin is around 1g lighter and has a diameter of 23.5mm.

James Constantinou, a leading expert in pre-loved designer goods and owner of Prestige Pawn, has eight pawn shops across the country and regularly receives a wide range of valuables including old coins. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, he explained how these coins might be difficult to find for one particular reason.

"The 1917 George V Gold Sovereign is one of the rarest British coins as any remaining will have survived WWI, and the melting pot when huge numbers of sovereigns were melted to settle massive debts accumulated to the US during the war," the expert said.

"This means that in today's market, a fine specimen of the 1917 George V Gold Sovereign can fetch an eye-watering £30,000."

James added that while it would be "amazing" to stumble across the ultra-valuable coin - you're more likely to find something like a Kew Gardens' 250th anniversary coin. Minted in 2009, these fetch around £250 - which is still a nice bump to your bank account.

King George V reigned from 1910 to 1936, and is often credited for modernising the British monarchy. He started the annual Christmas broadcast tradition and established the House of Windsor by changing the name of his Saxe-Coburg-Gotha residence.

His son and heir to the throne, Edward VIII infamously abdicated the throne the same year he was sworn in - which led to George VI unexpectedly becoming King. This is the reason why no Edward VIII coins were ever released to the public.

"Such was the sensitivity surrounding the Abdication that for many years these patterns were locked away and not treated as part of the Museum collection; few people knew what had survived and the existence of the coins became something of a mystery even within the Royal Mint," the Royal Mint Museum states.

"It was not until the retirement of Sir Jack James, Deputy Master from 1957 to 1970, that a sealed cardboard box was retrieved from a safe in his office and found to contain no fewer than 49 coins of Edward VIII. On 5 November 1970, these coins were placed in the Museum."