Gold Britannia

[mariner]

In 1987, Britannia finally received the accolade of being promoted to a gold coin for the first time ever, at least since Roman times.

Britain decided to compete with the successful South African krugerrand bullion coin which had been minted by the million since introduced in 1967.

The gold Britannia was born. In one ounce, half ounce, quarter ounce, and tenth ounce sizes, the new Britannia bullion coins had a face value of ?100, ?50, ?25, and ?10 each respectively. The weights quoted are the actual amount of fine or pure gold contained. Because of VAT on gold coins in the UK, sales of gold Britannias never took off in the way that krugerrands had, but now that most gold coins are exempt from VAT, as from January 1st, 2000, we hope that they will become more popular. They are a far more attractive design than the krugerrand.

The gold Britannia features a standing figure of Britannia, similar to that used on the Edward VII florins. The new "Standing Britannia" used on the gold Britannia coins was designed by sculptor Philip Nathan.

Edited August 21, 2007 by mariner

[mariner]

http://www.taxfreegold.co.uk/britanniasinfo.html

Have just learned about these coins, thought it might be of interest.........

They seem to offer a bit more to collectors than the Sovereign & the Krugerrand, due to the different designs available.

I find them very pleasing to look at, and may well add a few to my collection...

Edited August 21, 2007 by mariner

[mariner]

The ?25 1/4 OzBritannia, this is the same size as a Sovereign.

Edited August 21, 2007 by mariner

[mariner]

I suppose that you could argue that the silver Britannia is just as nice, and a much cheaper option?

[mariner]

The British Royal Mint introduced gold bullion coins, called Britannias in 1987. They are made in four different sizes, from one ounce down to one tenth of an ounce. The one ounce size has a face value of ?100, and the others have ?50, ?25, and ?10 face value respectively. For the first three years, they were issued in a reddish gold, from 1990 onwards some silver was added to the copper used to make up the alloy, and they have a more attractive yellow colour.

Date Mintage

1987 3,500

1988 0*

1989 0*

1990 0*

1991 0*

1992 0*

1993 0*

1994 0*

1995 0*

1996 0*

1997 923

1998 560

1999 1,000

2000 500

2001 500

2002 750

2003 604

2004 750

2005 750

2006

0* means none issued separately, only as part of complete four coin sets.

[bigjarofwasps]

A nice coin, but I don`t think it`ll take the world by storm, in the same way as the Krugerrand has. A nice collectors piece none the less! I think I`m right in saying that there hasn`t been one issued since 2003, not sure how that will effect the market. Whether collectors will want it because there more unique, or put them off, as you can`t really put date sets together, in the same way as you can with the Sovereign. Time will tell I suppose.....