Britannia (coin)
| Britannia | |
|---|---|
| Metal: | 99.99% Au (from 2013) 91.67% Au (until 2012) 99.9% Ag (from 2013) 95.8% Ag (until 2012) |
| Edge: | corrugated |
| Embossing years: | 1987 until today (Au) 1997 until today (Ag) |
| front | |
| Motive: | Elizabeth II |
| Designer: | Jody Clark |
| Draft date: | 2015 |
| back | |
| Motive: | Britannia with shield and trident |
| Designer: | P. Nathan |
| Draft date: | 1987 |
The Britannia is a British investment coin in gold , silver and, since 2018, also in platinum.
etymology
In Roman times , the female genius of the land of Britain was worshiped as a deity by the Romano-British under the name Britannia . Today this is considered to be the personification of Great Britain .
Origin of the name Britannia:
The name "Britannia" (Latin for Britain) comes from the time of the Roman occupation of large parts of Great Britain (approx. 50 BC). In order to worship the female personality of the country, it was worshiped as a deity under the name "Britannia". Since then, the symbolic, warlike female figure in armor has been synonymous with the country's patriotism. For centuries, this designation has not only been used for ship and company names, but also for investment and commemorative coins.
Britannia in gold
History and circulation
The Britannia first appeared in 1987, already in the four different sizes, and was therefore the first European investment coin. The mint is the Royal Mint . The mintage of the gold Britannia with one full troy ounce reached its peak in 1987 with 92,000 pieces (all sizes together: 150,367 ounces) and has been declining since then. For this reason, in some years it was only minted as a proof or as sentences. Today the coin has a market share of almost one percent.
description
The coin has had a fineness of 999.9 thousandths since 2013. Until 2012 the Britannia - like the Sovereign and the Krugerrand - had a fineness of 916.66, which corresponds to 22 carats . Until 1989, copper was used as an alloy with a share of one twelfth. Then silver and copper were used in the same ratio to one another. As a result, the color of the coin changed from red to yellow. All motifs are framed in a serrated edge. The motif on the front remained unchanged until 2000. The "Standing Britannia Design" by P. Nathan shows the Britannia with a shield, helmet and trident. In addition, the size of the coin, Britannia , until 2001 Nathan ( uncirculated ) or P. Nathan (proof) and the year of issue are stamped. Since 2001, the design of the Britannia on the front has changed with every odd year. In 2001 the motif was "Britannia with a lion", in 2003 "Head of the female Britannia" and in 2005 "Sitting Britannia".
On the back is the portrait of the owner of the throne, so far exclusively Queen Elizabeth II , and the face value . As with all coins of the Commonwealth , the portrait is discontinuously adapted to the appearance of the regent.
Data
| size | diameter | thickness | Weight | Face value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ⁄ 10 ounce | 16.50 mm | 1.17 mm | 3.412 g | £ 10 |
| ¼ ounce | 22.00 mm | 1.63 mm | 8.513 g | 25 pounds |
| ½ ounce | 27.00 mm | 2.08 mm | 17.025 g | 50 pounds |
| 1 ounce | 32.69 mm | 2.79 mm | 34.05 g | 100 pounds |
(The diameter can vary by several tenths of a millimeter)
Britannia in silver
History and circulation
Since 1997 the Britannia has also been minted in silver by The British Royal Mint . The coin has a fineness of 95.8%. The annual circulation of the coins amounts to 2,500 pieces in the proof and 100,000 pieces in the brilliant uncirculated version, whereby the first edition was only available in the proof. Some of the 1/10 ounce coins are available individually. The 1/2 and 1/4 ounce coins are only available as proof sets (1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005). From the mint year 2013, the fineness of the coin is 999/1000.
Data
| size | diameter | thickness | Weight | Face value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ⁄ 10 ounce | 16.50 mm | ? | 3.25 g | £ 0.20 |
| ¼ ounce | 22.00 mm | ? | 8.11 g | £ 0.50 |
| ½ ounce | 27.00 mm | ? | 16.23 g | £ 1 |
| 1 ounce | 38.61 mm | 3 mm | 32.45 g | £ 2 |
Since 2013, the diameter has been 38.61 mm and the thickness 3 mm. In addition, since 2013 the coin has been minted without a minting limit. It no longer consists of 958 silver as before, but of 999 fine silver. In 2017, an anniversary edition was also published for the 20th anniversary of the Silver Britannia. This has an additional trident on the front of the coin, where the number 20 can be found. 120,000 copies of this anniversary edition were minted.
Reason for changing the fineness from 958 to 999 gold / silver:
Both the gold and the silver Britannia have been minted with a higher degree of fineness since the 2013 vintage (gold: 999.9 / 1000 / silver: 999/1000), which is why the Royal Mint wanted to counteract the lower market acceptance, since investment coins generally enforced the high subtleties. In terms of fineness, the British bullion coin caught up with the established bullion coins such as the Vienna Philharmonic or the Australian Lunar series.
Britannia in platinum
The Britannia has been issued in PLATINUM by the Royal Mint in Great Britain since 2018.
It is now also competing with the platinum coins Maple Leaf, Eagle, Philharmonic and Krugerrand made of platinum. The Britannia image was used as the motif, which is also known from the Britannia Gold and Britannia Silver editions. The face value is 100 GBP (British Pounds).
The edition numbers are not yet known.