The London Mint Office

THE GOLD SOVEREIGN

2010-06-10T06:21:00.000-07:00

From the Victorian Age to the present day: a brief study

While all coins have a story to tell, throughout history some coins have gained a far more prestigious reputation than others. While some coins fade quickly into the mists of history, others, like the Greek tetradrachm or the Roman solidus, dominate the monetary scene for centuries at a time, circulating throughout vast geographical areas and serving as strong currencies both at home and abroad.

The measure of a truly great currency is that it facilitates commerce across the continents, providing peoples and nations that are far apart with a regular and reliable means of trading with each other. There are only a handful of coins in this distinguished class of currencies and in many ways the sovereign is the most famous and prestigious of them all.

The sovereign was first struck in 1489 under King Henry VII and at the time was the largest gold coin in England, valued at twenty shillings. It was minted until the end of the Tudor dynasty in 1603 but then reappeared in 1817 as part of a major coinage reform, and it now flourished alongside Britain’s growing empire to become a coin of international status.

THE VICTORIAN AGE
THE EDWARDIAN ERA
GEORGE V THE GREAT WAR AND THE END OF GOLD COINAGE IN CIRCULATION
THE SOVEREIGN RETURNS IN THE MODERN ERA
THE SOVEREIGNS MINTED IN BRITAIN’S GOLD-RICH COLONIES
HALF SOVEREIGN - THE SMALLER, SCARCER PART OF BRITAIN’S GOLD COINAGE
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Gold Sovereigns guide

Guide to British Commemorative Coins

2010-05-11T06:52:00.000-07:00

The story of Britain is told through its Commemorative coinage thus preserving it for future generations.

King Alfred the Great was the first King of England to use his coinage to commemorate an event in his reign. In 886AD he occupied the city of London and shortly after he produced a coin with LONDON spelled out in a monogram so that all his subjects would know that he was the King of England who reclaimed the capital.

This use of coinage to spread news of an event dates back to Roman times. The beauty of using coinage is that virtually the whole of the population uses it, and more importantly they look at it when they use it. Even today, while some people may not read newspapers and others do not use the internet, everyone uses coinage.

The commemorative in our era
In Britain the Royal Mint supervises the issue of commemorative coinage and they ensure that it is used to celebrate events, people and achievements of national importance, rather than just for political pronouncements.

However, the role of money has changed in our modern society and with it so too has people’s expectations of commemorative coins. While many are happy to save one of each new coin from circulation, many people want - and demand - exclusive editions of these special coins that have a value far beyond that of just the face value of the coin.

To meet that demand the Royal Mint now has a special facility which is separate to the regular production area in which skilled craftsmen produce limited editions, most of them in sterling silver and struck to Proof standards, producing some of the finest commemorative coins in the world.

Coins that may look familiar enough - but isn’t the colour wrong? Some of the coins we handle every day have been released as limited editions in sterling silver and struck magnificently to Proof standards.

Continue to full London Mint Office British Commemorative Coins Guide

5 Reasons why Gold and rare coins may reap reward

2010-03-11T02:30:00.000-08:00

Since 2000, The price of gold has risen by more than 240%, outpacing the FTSE 100, Dow Jones and NASDAQ+

Gold bullion and older gold coins are not subject to VAT. More importantly unlike other gold investment forms British gold sovereign coins are not subject to capital gains tax (CGT).

Diversification can provide a buffer against uncertain economic conditions. Coins have historically performed well during periods of economic recovery and high inflation. A sundry spread of investments can serve to minimise risk.

Gold and rare coins are amongst the most liquid assets available.

Prices for Gold Sovereigns and rare coins are bolstered by their rarity, historical significance and artistic merit. These factors can contribute to appreciations in value beyond bullion prices for the equivalent amount of gold.

Please bear in mind that past performance gives no guarantee of future gains.

Sources Money Week & IRCBS + Yahoo Finance, UK/Ireland

A Value Growth Study of Collectable British Coins

2010-02-15T03:09:00.000-08:00

How rare British coins have risen in value

Unlike precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum, the values of rare British coins are difficult to graph. The main reason is that by the very definition ‘rare’ they do not come to market on a frequent basis making charting results difficult. A further compounding factor is that most older collectable British coins vary in their condition which means that a superb example may fetch top money one month, then a far lesser example only one quarter of the amount a month later - but to chart these two results would show the value of the coin is falling when clearly this would not be the case.

One final factor that affects any form of value growth study is the varying prices at which coins may be sold in the marketplace as they can be sold at auction, privately, or by a dealer.

Our Collectable British Coin Specialists have taken up the challenge of preparing a value growth study of a handful of selected British coins. In an effort to lessen the impact of the various factors described above, they have chosen four coins that tend to come to market always in the same condition, creating a ‘basket’ of collectable British coins in a similar way to that of the Consumer Price Index which brings together a range of consumer goods. This also flattens out the impact of the effect of, say, the rising gold price on the value of gold coins.

(The coloured points which display the rising values of the four individual
items,shown in the graph above, contain spikes, but by combining these
values into a trend average we obtain a considered view of how the
values of collectable British coins have been growing over recent years.)

They have opted also to use auction price realisations. Although some auction results might be affected by two competing bidders becoming ‘over-excited’ in a particular auction for a particular item, generally this provides a sound basis for comparing the price someone will sell with the price at which someone will pay.

This trend line shows that in the seven years since November 2002 (when each of the items appeared on the market at the same time), the values of the ‘basket’ of collectable coins have risen by over 255%. Interestingly, between July 2008 and June 2009, a period when the impact of the global financial crisis was starting to be felt, the trend average values rose by over 15%.

While this graph doesn’t depict the specific coins in this offer, and while we cannot guarantee that past figures are an indication of future growth, the value growth study does show that values of the British collectable coins studied has been growing for some time.

The London Mint Office

2010-02-12T02:44:00.000-08:00

About us: The London Mint Office

The London Mint Office is a trusted and respected partner for more than 300,000 British coin collectors. Gold, silver and other precious metals have fascinated mankind for many centuries, making coin collecting a popular hobby the world over. The London Mint Office is a respected and entrusted partner for more than 300,000 British coin collectors. Together with our sister organisations across Europe and China we are one of the largest coin collecting partners worldwide – supplying coins and medals to more than 3 Million collectors.

As an official partner to many National banks and State mints worldwide, the London Mint Office supports the British collector. Coins are an official means of payment, so reliability and trustworthiness are vital when you decide where to purchase gold & silver coins, official medals or when you need information about coins. The London Mint Office is partner to many of the most important National Banks and State Mints across the world. Working closely with the British Royal Mint, the principal manufacture of coinage in the United Kingdom. For many coins releases we have exclusive distribution rights worldwide and in Great Britain.

The London Mint Office aims to provide 100% customer satisfaction. Our experts visit coin fairs and auctions around the world, which ensures that our clients are amongst the first to be informed about strictly limited offers and receive the best quality coins. Guaranteeing customers the best opportunity and most convenient method of collecting successfully. As the official distributor of coins for many state mints we often have the first right of distribution.

Collecting with the London Mint Office is risk free. The London Mint Office ensures that you receive the latest news and the best quality coins, complete with essential collector collateral such as original certificates of authenticity, protective coin capsules and elegant coin binders. If for any reason you decide that any of our products do not make the perfect addition to your collection the London Mint Office guarantees that it will buy back any goods at the original purchase price, providing they are returned within 14 days of receipt, complete and in mint condition.