- 1988 Gold Britannia 1 oz (£100 coin, 31.104g)
- 1988 Gold Britannia 1/2 oz (£50 coin)
- 1988 Gold Britannia 1/4 oz (£25 coin)
- 1988 Gold Britannia 1/10 oz (£10 coin)
The Gold Britannia is a British 1 troy ounce (31.104 g) Gold coin, minted by the Royal Mint. It has a millesimal fineness of 0.9999 making it a 24 carat gold coin. It is denominated as £100.
Gold Britannia’s were first minted in 1987, originally in 22 carat, 0.917 gold. The coin itself weighed 34.05 g (31.104 g gold and the rest copper) and had a diameter of 32.69 mm.
From 2013 the coin became a larger but thinner coin, with a diameter of 38.61 mm (the same as a crown). It became (literally) pure gold; the new coin weighs 31.104 g and has a gold content of 31.104 g.
The coin also spurned a family of fractional children: 5 oz, 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/10th oz, 1/20th oz. The Silver Britannia was launched in 2013.
The obverse shows the Monarch’s head (Queen Elizabeth II) and the reverse is the eponymous Britannia in various forms. Britannia is the female personification of Great Britain and has been part of British coinage for a long time.
From a numismatic point of view these are beautiful coins, and due to their tax exemptions make a very good investment.
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Mintage: Not known
Minted at The Royal Mint.
Queen Elizabeth II issued many coins and was monarch during decimalisation. She married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 1947 and had four children. Her eldest son succeeded the throne as King Charles III. House of Windsor.
Formed in the reign of Alfred the Great about the year 886, during the period 1279-1812 it was generally referred to as The Tower Mint as it was housed at the Tower of London. The Master of The Royal Mint has included famous figures such as Sir Isaac Newton.
Since 2010 it has operated as Royal Mint Ltd, a company owned by HM Treasury, under an exclusive contract to supply all coinage for the UK although it also produces medals and coins for other countries. It is currently located at Llantrisant, Wales.
The orignal coinage was Pounds, Shillings and Pence but since decimalisation on 15 February 1971, it is £1 = 100p, that is One Pound = 100 pence. The coinage of the UK is also a long history, the Royal Mint being established as long ago as 886AD when coins were hammered. Today there is perhaps 30 billion coins in circulation, and many (numismatic) collectors coins and sets are issued frequently in gold, silver and other metals.
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