Gold Britannia Coins

The Royal Mint had a popular investment bullion coin in the Sovereign and had not needed to produce a new coin for this market. Occasionally striking commemorative £5 sovereign coins, the Royal Mint seemed content with its success until the introduction of the South African Krugerrand in 1967. The immensely popular coin contained exactly 1 oz of gold, the sovereign, with just 0.2354 oz found its popularity waning. By 1980, the South African upstart was dominating almost 90% of the global coin market. In response, the Royal Mint crafted the Gold Britannia, a 22-carat coin containing exactly 1 oz of gold. There was an immediate response to the coin and the investment market opened up to the Royal Mint. As a more easily marketable bullion coin, the only thing that prevented further growth was the untapped Asian markets. Though historically, the East has always been intrigued by coins produced in the UK, the fact the 1 oz coin was produced using 22-carat gold did not appeal. In 2013 the Royal Mint changed production so that all coins produced after this date contain 24-carat gold. The change in minting has had the desired effect and the Gold Britannia 1oz coin is one of the bestselling coins for overseas investors as well as appealing to tax-savvy domestic investors. In 1997, the Royal Mint added the Silver Britannia to its offerings which has also proved to be a popular investment coin.

Though produced in limited quantities with certain years having only a few thousand coins minted whilst others have tens of thousands, there is yet to be any acknowledged ‘rare’ gold Britannia coins. A few of these bullion coins return to the market, the overall collectability value is also yet to be judged. However, there are certainly some years that produced far fewer coins whilst others have desirability due to their change in reverse design. Though all feature Britannia (mostly standing), some have her seated, with waves or in a chariot. In 2001, the design featured Una and the Lion and is a popular coin for collectors. Gathering a full set of Britannia coins is appealing for many numismatists and is often more achievable in the proof versions. The 1999 Britannia gold coin was only minted in a quantity of just 1,277 and is likely to achieve scarcity value as a collectable coin of the future.

Britannia coins are exempt from VAT and are also Capital Gains Tax (CGT) free. This makes these coins an excellent way to invest your capital to future proof your returns whilst diversifying your risk and balancing an investment portfolio.

Gold Britannias or Gold Sovereigns - which is the best investment?"

After three decades, the Britannia gold coin is celebrating a milestone with the 2017 anniversary edition. Limited in production to just 7,030, this commemorative coin is achieving significant premiums over other years and is more attractive to collectors than to investors. With additional security features, the enhanced guilloché finish has an updated design with an anniversary mark.

Britannia gold coins (1 oz) issued between the period 1987-2012 have a diameter of 32.69mm having a total mass of 34.05g struck in 22-carat metal with a millesimal finesse of 0.917 (91.7%). Until 1989 the remainder was copper with silver being used to make up the difference from 1990-2012. Struck in 24-carat gold with a millesimal finesse of 0.999 (99.99%) in 24-carat gold from 2013, the Britannia coins struck only in 2013 have a mass of 31.104g but with a diameter of 38.61mm. From 2014 onwards, the diameter was 32.69mm.

We can offer secure high-commodity storage facilities for investors purchasing in sizeable quantities (over £2,500). We deliver orders direct to your door using fully insured specialist couriers and you are free to make your own arrangements for storage.

Investing in gold is widely acknowledged to be a way to diversify a traditional paper asset portfolio and can be used to balance risk with other investments. British gold coins for sale maintain a strong value intrinsic to the amount of gold used in the mintage but also as collectables.