The British Royal Mint founded in the year 886, has just auctioned off the last 500 coins minted featuring a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 1952 – 2022, the longest-reigning monarch in British history; and the first 500 coins minted featuring a portrait of King Charles III.
The coins which sold for $5.16 million covered six renowned coin series: The iconic Gold Sovereign, first minted in 1489, the Gold one ounce, half ounce, quarter ounce, and one tenth ounce Britannia, first minted in 1987, and the one ounce Silver Britannia, first minted in 1997.
Coins from this sale have been exclusively certified by Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), the world's largest coin grading service. Significantly, the coins are individually numbered out of 500, creating a one-of-a-kind collectible with an important historical connection. An extremely limited number of coins with the lowest numbers have also been individually hand signed by Graeme Smith, The Queen's Assay Master, and Paul Morgan, The King's Assay Master. Assay master’s serve the reigning monarch and to ensure the integrity of the British coinage, the position has existed for over a thousand years.
The last one ounce Gold Britannia minted with the Queen Elizabeth II portrait sold for $50,000, and the first Gold Britannia minted with the King Charles portrait sold for $42,000!
Notable Gold and Silver coins from the sale are available to collectors in perfect MS70 condition, the highest numeric numismatic grade possible. Some iconic Gold Sovereign coins are also available in perfect MS70 with the rarely seen Deep Proof Like (DPL) designation. In coin collecting first and last issues are highly sought after. These NGC certified coins are sonically sealed in tamper proof holders assuring collectors that the coins are authentic and accurately graded and impart their special provenance, which is made more intriguing to the collector because of their individual numbers, and authentic hand signatures of Graeme Smith and Paul Morgan, the Queen’s, and King’s Assay Masters.
