The Royal Mint is delighted to introduce the 2009 Britannia collection, featuring Philip Nathan’s famous 1997 design of Britannia standing tall in her chariot.
His stunning design appears on the reverse, while the current portrait of Her Majesty the Queen takes pride of place on the obverse – the first time that the two designs have appeared alongside each other on a gold coin.
The 2009 collection is the eighth in a series of Britannia commemorative coins to be released since their inception by the Royal Mint in 1987. Unusually for UK gold coins, the Britannia Collection is struck to 22 carat gold Proof quality, but with a small quantity of silver added to the alloy, resulting in a brilliant yellow gold finish.
Read the rest of this numismatic news article »
The Royal Mint has today reported another profitable and successful year, demonstrating the commitment to long-term sustainable growth. An operating profit before exceptional items and interest of £8.2 million (2007-08: £9.6m) was realised in spite of the challenging global economic environment, meaning the Royal Mint will pay a dividend of £4.0 million (2007-08: £3.9m) into [...]
Celebrating the 500th anniversary of the ascension of a king considered to be controversial at the least, the Royal Mint has issued the 2009 UK Henry VIII £5 coins. These coins are available in platinum, gold, silver and cupro-nickel.
Dave Knight, Director of Commemorative Coins at the Mint, explains the choice for these commemorative coins:
“Love him or hate him, Henry VIII is undoubtedly one of history’s most influential monarchs. His reign changed the face of England forever and we felt it was essential that this remarkable period of history was commemorated with a lasting and treasured memento.”
Read the rest of this numismatic news article »
In 1759, a few acres of land was donated by Princess Augusta to create a garden for rare and unusual plants. 250 years later the Royal Mint is celebrating the creation of this premier facility with the 2009 UK Kew Gardens 50p coins. The coins are available in three forms: a 22 carat gold proof [...]
In 2012, London will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the most prestigious sporting events in the world. To commemorate this auspicious occasion, the Royal Mint was joined by Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington OBE to launch the first Countdown Coin, a special £5 coin counting down three years to the exciting event. Rebecca comments: [...]
The British Royal Mint hopes to inspire UK residents to draw up fresh designs for millions of 50 pence coins for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Royal Mint on Tuesday offered children, students and the general public a once in a lifetime opportunity with competitions geared to create 29 olympic themed designs [...]
The British Royal Mint has produced a series of 18 sterling silver proof coins commemorating the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I. The coins are issued under the authorities of Alderney, the Cayman Islands and the Solomon Islands and have a total collection limit of just 5,000.
According to the Mint, the commemorative themes were "designed by the Royal Mint Design Team, drawing inspiration from the art and literature of those who experienced the war first hand and from their own visit to the battlefields of France and Belgium."
Read the rest of this numismatic news article »
The British Royal Mint has launched a new online site featuring a refreshing design, easier navigation, interactive elements, and more detail for coins and their history. A welcomed improvement is within the product pages. The top panel contains an interactive element featuring each coin’s design through various image sideshows. Retained is the ability to zoom [...]
The British Royal Mint has announced the sale of individual proof £1 gold, silver and Piedfort silver coins featuring Welsh graphic designer Matthew Dent’s rendition of the heraldic shield of the Royal Arms — only the third coin reverse version since 1983.
The coins have an extremely low mintage with the 22 carat gold piece limited to just 1,000 and each .925 sterling silver coin set to only 5,000.
Collectors may purchase the gold, silver and Piedfort silver proof coins for £425, £49.95 and £29.95, respectively. (See International Currency Converter.)
The Piedfort £1 is unique in that it’s twice the weight and double the thickness of its circulating counterpart. While it has the same 22.5 mm diameter as the non Piedfort silver proof, its weight is doubled at 19 grams.
Read the rest of this numismatic news article »
The number of counterfeit £1 coins in circulation has doubled in the last five years, according to new figures released by the Royal Mint and reported by the BBC. Two percent or 1 in 50 pound coins are fake, and based on production, that would account for some 30 million counterfeit £1s circulating. In its [...]
