The use of gold in the making of coins for common currency is a practice dating back countless years. In more recent times the international exchange value of gold has increased so substantially, and paper currency has become so widely accepted, that the need to use precious metals in minting coins has virtually disappeared.
Gold coins are now principally the province of investors and collectors.
Some of those once in use and now collected are, in addition to the sovereign , the guinea , the noble, the angel, etc. Their worth is a combination of both intrinsic and scarcity value. At various times in recent history exchange controls have restricted the holding of gold coins to licensed dealers and banks. No restrictions apply in the UK at present. The Penguin Business Dictionary 2.