2023 Platinum Britannia 1oz Bullion – Charles III

Charles became King on the 8 September 2022 following the death of his Mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Born 14 November 1948. Charles was the oldest person to become Monarch, aged 73 years old when he became King. His Coronation was on 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey, and his wife became Queen Camilla.

Charles has been married twice. His first marriage was to Diana, Princess of Wales. They married in 1981 and divorced in 1996. They had two children: William, Prince of Wales and hier to the throne, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Charles' second marriage was to Queen Camilla in 2005.

Charles has a sister, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal; and two brothers: Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh.

On coins, King Charles decided to use the English spelling of his name where his predecessors of the same name used the Latin Carolus.
Platinum is a very rare metal, much rarer than gold. It looks very similar to silver in appearance. It is dense, ductile, malleable and one of the least reactive metals which means it hardly ever corrodes.

Platinum's high price is because demand is often higher than supply. It is only found in only 0.005 ppm of the Earth's crust but almost 50% of the metal is required for use in catalytic converters in motor vehicles. About 35% is used in jewellery, and the rest is used by the petroleum refining industry (9%), electrical (3%, it's in disk drives), medicine, and investment.

About 200 tonnes of Platinum are mined each year and South Africa is by far the biggest supplier. Compare this to gold production which is about 3,500 tonnes per year and silver which is 1.6 million tonnes per year. There's actually more platinum on the Moon than on Earth.

The name Platinum comes from the Spanish word platino which mean 'little silver'. It is an element with chemical symbol Pt and atomic number of 78. Melting point is 1,768C.

Platinum coins and silver coins are very similar in appearance, so take care as the price difference can be huge and mistakes very expensive.The Royal Mint is the designated place for the UK to mint coins. It dates back well over 1000 years and is a Government-owned company. 

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 United Kingdom (UK) is the Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is often refered to as Great Britain (GBR). It has a long, rich history.

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.