Royal Mint
The world's oldest mint and producer of the Britannia gold and silver coins
The Royal Mint is the oldest mint in the world and produces all the coinage for the United Kingdom. That includes circulation coins, precious metal bullion coins, numismatic and commemorative coins. The mint's flagship bullion coin are the British Britannia coins that are minted out of gold and silver. The Sovereign coins as well as the British Lunar and Queen's Beasts coin series are also quite popular among many coin collectors and investors. The mint also produces military and commemorative medals as well as coins and coin blanks for many other countries. The Royal Mint prides itself for being the largest and most advanced minting facility in the world. As the world's leading export mint, it has manufactured coins for about 60 countries (for example most of the Hong Kong gold coins). The Royal Mint is registered as a limited company that is wholly owned by the United Kingdom's Treasury (HM Treasury).
Minting Facilities
The Royal Mint is located in a 13-hectare (35 acre) facility in Llantrisant (Pontyclun, Mid Glamorgan) in South Wales. The mint mark of the Royal Mint in Llantrisant is a cross crosslet but it is rarely used.
Recently, the Royal Mint opened a new visitor center at its premises in Wales which makes visits of the mint (both individuals as well as groups) possible for much larger numbers of people than before. Named as "The Royal Mint Experience", a visit of the Royal Mint is made up of two parts, a guided factory experience (45 min in length) and a self-guided interactive exhibition. During the first part, visitors will learn how blank pieces of metal are manufactured before being struck by a press to become coins. The striking hall where thousands of coins are produced daily will be visible from a viewing area. As an optional extra, visitors of the factory experience have the opportunity to strike their own £1 coin. The interactive exhibition that follows explores the Royal Mint's history, showcases coins and medals that the mint has produced and informs visitors about coin collecting and the different manufacturing processes involved in coin production.
The Royal Mint Experience is situated about 12 miles north-west of the city of Cardiff (4 miles from Junction 34 of the M4). Visitors are advised to pre-book their tickets online or through the phone.
History
A London mint started operating sometime after 650 AD. During the reign of Alfred the Great (871-899 AD) it started to become more important. By about 1279, the mint had moved to the Tower of London where it remained for the next 500 years. Between 1810 and 1812, the Royal Mint gradually moved to newly constructed buildings on Little Tower Hill. This new site was reconstructed and extended in the 1880's and then again at the turn of the century. Increasing demand for coinage necessitated nearly constant rebuilding and expansion of the mint facility. Even before the Tower Hill site of the Royal Mint had reached its production capacity in 1971, a new Royal Mint in Llantrisant had already been opened by the Queen on the 17th of December 1968. The Royal Mint in London continued to operate until November 1975 when its last coin, a gold sovereign, was struck. The new mint in Llantrisant ran a full range of minting activities by then. The Royal Mint in Llantrisant was registered as a limited company on the 31st of December 2009. Royal Mint Ltd. is wholly owned by the United Kingdom's Treasury (HM Treasury).
The Royal Mint's Gold Bullion Coins
British Gold Britannias
Mintage of the British Gold Britannia coins started in 1987. Their reverse side generally shows a helmet-clad standing Britannia holding an olive branch, shield and trident. In certain years, the design of the coin's reverse side differs from that standard design though. The coins were made out of 91.67% pure gold alloyed with copper at first. In 1990, the non-gold component changed from copper to silver. Both brilliant uncirculated and proof versions of the coins are offered. In 2013, the British Gold Britannias had their gold purity raised to 99.99%. Many different denominations of the coins between 1/40 oz and 1 kg are offered by Britain's Royal Mint.
The British Gold Britannia page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.
British Gold Sovereigns
In their current form, British Gold Sovereign coins are minted since 1957 by Britain's renowned Royal Mint. The coins had been reintroduced in 1817 after previously having existed in medieval times since 1489. The 91.67% pure Gold Sovereigns count among the world's most recognizable gold coins. That is partly due to Benedetto Pistrucci's famous reverse design of the coins that shows St. George slaying the dragon. That design still appears on almost every annual issue of the coins but alternate designs were used in certain years as well. Three different finishes - bullion, brilliant uncirculated, proof - and five different sizes between 0.0588 oz (Quarter-Sovereign) and 1.1771 oz (Quintuple-Sovereign) are currently being offered.
The British Gold Sovereign page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.
British Gold Lunar Coins
British Gold Lunar coins are struck out of 99.99% fine gold since 2014. The first inaugural issue was dedicated to the Chinese Year of the Horse and each year since then, the coins displayed that year's Chinese zodiac animal on their reverse. Buyers can choose between the denominations of 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1 oz, 5 oz and 1 kg with the two largest sizes only available as proof coins. Annual mintage numbers of the gold version of the British Lunar coins are quite limited. This coin series by Britain's Royal Mint is also known as the Shēngxiào Collection. It is scheduled to end in 2025. By that time, coins depicting all 12 Chinese zodiac animals will have been issued.
The British Gold Lunar page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.
British Gold Queen's Beasts
The Royal Mint introduced the Queen's Beasts gold coins in 2016, just like the silver version of the coins. The first three coins of the series came out in rapid succession and displayed the Lion of England, the Griffin of Edward III and the Red Dragon of Wales. A total of 11 coin designs make up the Queen's Beasts series that saw their final two issues in September 2020 (the "White Greyhound of Richmond" issue) and April 2021 (the "Completer Coin" that shows all ten beasts together). The coins' gold purity is generally 99.99% (with the exception of some proof issues of the "Completer Coin"). Brilliant uncirculated coins were minted according to market demand in the sizes of 1 oz and 1/4 oz. Proof coins were mostly minted in the sizes of 1 kg, 5 oz, 1 oz and 1/4 oz and their mintage was capped.
The Gold Queen's Beast coin page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.
Other Precious Metal Bullion Coins
British Silver Britannias
The Royal Mint started issuing British Silver Britannia coins in 1997, but only as proofs at first. Brilliant uncirculated coins are minted since 1998. The coins were minted out of 95.8% fine silver until 2012. The silver purity was raised to 99.9% in 2013. Since then, brilliant uncirculated Silver Britannias are minted according to market demand without an annual maximum mintage. Just like the gold version, the coins display the standard design of a standing Britannia in most years. Proof coins display a different Britannia design each year since 2013. Many different denominations of the coins between 1/40 oz and 2 kg exist and some denominations are only available as proofs.
The British Silver Britannia page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.
British Silver Lunar Coins
This gold and silver coin series that is known as the Shēngxiào Collection started in 2014 and is scheduled to end in 2025. The silver version of the coins is struck out of 99.9% fine silver. The reverse side of the coins changes each year, always depicting the Chinese zodiac animal for that year of issuance. The same depicted design also appears on that year's gold version of the coins. The Royal Mint currently issues the coins in the three denominations of 1 oz (both brilliant uncirculated and proof coins), 5 oz (only proof coins) and 1 kg (only proof coins). A gilded version of the coins also exist. Annual mintage numbers of the British Silver Lunar coins far exceed those of the gold version.
The British Silver Lunar page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.
British Silver Queen's Beasts
The Royal Mint introduced the Queen's Beasts silver coins in 2016, just like the gold version of the coins. The design of the silver coins is identical to that of the gold coins and the first three coin designs displayed the Lion of England, the Griffin of Edward III and the Red Dragon of Wales in succession. The last two of a total of 11 issues of the British Silver Queen's Beasts came out in September 2020 (the "White Greyhound of Richmond" issue) and April 2021 (the "Completer Coin" that shows all ten beasts together). Brilliant uncirculated coins were minted according to market demand out of 99.99% fine silver in the two sizes of 2 oz and 10 oz. Proof coins of 99.9% purity were minted in the four sizes of 1 kg, 10 oz, 5 oz and 1 oz and their mintage numbers were capped.
The Silver Queen's Beast coin page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.
St. George and the Dragon silver coins
There are no official Silver Sovereigns. In 2013, the Royal Mint released silver coins (brilliant uncirculated) with the same design as the Sovereign coins though. These 1/2 oz "St. George and the Dragon" coins out of 99.9% silver have a face value of £ 20. The mintage limit of these legal tender coins was set at 250,000 pieces.
In addition to these silver bullion coins, the Royal Mint also produced 10,000 commemorative "St. George and the Dragon" £ 5 proof coins in 2013. These coins out of sterling silver (92.5% silver purity) were issued in order to commemorate the birth of Prince George in 2013.
The famous "St. George and the Dragon" design had also been used on British Silver Crown coins in the 1800's.
British Platinum Britannias
For the 20th anniversary of the popular Gold Britannias in 2007, Britain's Royal Mint released the first limited mintage of proof Platinum Britannias. In 2018, the coins were then first released as bullion coins. The female idol Britannia is displayed on the reverse side of the platinum version of the coins, just like on the gold and silver version. Brilliant uncirculated coins are available in the two sizes of 1 oz and 1/10 oz. The coins are 99.95% fine just like all contemporary platinum bullion coins. The British Platinum Britannia coins are fully backed by the British government that guarantees their weight and purity. The legal tender coins are also exempt from the UK Capital Gains Tax.
The British Platinum Britannia page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.
British Platinum Queen's Beasts
The Royal Mint started issuing the British Platinum Queen's Beasts in 2017 in the wake of the successful market introduction of the gold and silver version of the coins. The new 1 oz platinum coins of the Queen's Beasts series are 99.95% pure and have a face value of £100. Only brilliant uncirculated coins are issued. They are very thin with a thickness of just 1 mm and 32.69 mm in diameter. A portrait of Queen Elizabeth II can be seen on the obverse side of all the coins whereas the reverse side always depicts one of the 10 heraldic animal statues that appeared in the coronation ceremony of the Queen. The reverse design of the inaugural issue for example shows the Lion of England and the 2nd coin shows the Griffin of Edward III. In total, this coin series is made up of 10 different coin designs.
The Platinum Queen's Beast coin page gives more information about the coins.