2023 Silver Britannia – 1oz Silver Proof 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.

The Silver Britannia is a silver coin minted in the UK by the Royal Mint. It has a denomination of £2 and generally available both in proof and bullion versions. While the bullion version carries the same reverse over the years, the proof version feature a different design each year, making them very collectable.

This article covers the Silver Britannia, but the coin is also minted in gold and platinum; there is a large family of associated coins. Besides the one-ounce silver coin, the silver family includes Half ounce, One quarter ounce, One tenth ounce, One twentieth ounce and a massive Five ounce coin.

Specifications

The size and silver content of this coin has changed since the coin’s release in 1997.

Originally it was 958 (95.8%) silver (which is known as ‘Britannia Silver’, the rest is usually copper).

Since 2013 the silver coins have followed the modern trend of using pure silver and are now produced with a millesimal fineness of .999 (99.9% silver).

One ounce (1997-2012): diameter 40 mm, (32.454 g).
One ounce (2013-) : diameter 38.61 mm, (31.104 g).

Face value: £2 (GBP)

Most years are also available as proof, although not every year.

Design

Know by this name as an image of Britannia is always on the reverse, the coin has been minted in silver since 1997. The image of the Proof Britannia is changed every year, and odd years see Britannia standing and even years see her sitting.

The image may be different on the proof and Unc versions of the same year; this is especially true after 2013. There are variations to the 1oz coin, we see 5oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz and smaller; there are gold and platinum variants too. Generally the same year shares the same Britannia design.

Britannia, together with a combination of trident, Union Jack shield and lion are all symbols of Great Britain, devised many centuries ago to signify that Britain ruled the waves (as it did indeed in those days with the most powerful navy in the world). Britannia has been used on several other British coins.

The Obverse is always of Queen Elizabeth II.

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.