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 entry »

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 entry »

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 entry »

The British Royal Mint has announced the sale of the extremely limited 2008 UK Queen Elizabeth I £5 Piedfort Platinum Proof Coin, and only days after releasing the four-coin silver proof Piedforts.

The platinum coin, like its sister silver version, has the piedfort-style double weight and thickness. It’s on sale for a whopping £5250 (~$10,264 USD). Too high? Set aside the coin’s beauty and consider only its limited 150 issuance and 3 ounce platinum content. You might just reconsider.

And you may want to hurry. The Royal Mint’s two previous years’ platinum Piedforts sold out.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Royal Mint launched their very limited 2008 UK Silver Proof Piedfort Four-Coin Collection for £249.95 (~$490 USD). Piedfort coins are unique with their contrasting double weight and thickness. The name ‘Piedfort’ (Pee-ay-fore) actually comes from the French word meaning "heavy measure."

The four coin silver proof collection includes the £1 coin bearing a fresh rendition of the Royal Arms, and this year’s three commemorative coins:

• £5 pieces honouring the 450th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth I
• £5 pieces honouring the 60th birthday of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and
• the bi-colour £2 coin marking the centenary of the Olympic Games held in London in 1908

Read the rest of this entry »