Heroes of Silver: Britannia

[silversword]

Part four in the series and our attention returns closer to home with a coin that some would say is a young pretender, yet it can trace it's design back further than just about any coin you care to name. I am talking, of course, about the British silver Britannia.

 

2013 bullion coin with the Rank-Broadley 4th portrait, and the Nathan standing Britannia reverse

 

 

The figure of Britannia herself has been found on coins dating back to Roman times: during his invasion of Britain, Hadrian, between building walls and getting his legionaries killed, had time to mint several coins and medals featuring a young female figure holding a spear and shield, labeled "Britannia". Perhaps Hadrian's design wasn't very good; It took another few centuries for it to catch on, with 17th century copper coins being the first truly home-grown money to use the Britannia design. Since then, it has persisted in several forms right up to the present day.

 

There has been a gold Britannia since 1987, but it took another 10 years for the "worlds oldest mint" to decide to produce a silver counterpart: In 1997 the Royal Mint merely tested the waters, issuing proof sets of 4 silver Britannias ranging from 1oz o 1/10oz with a purity of .958 (Britannia silver) as opposed to the more common .925 sterling. Noting the popularity of their second "flagship" coin (the other being the Sovereign of course), the Mint wasted no time in preparing for future issues, and until recently have been keenly churning out a number of variations, in a relatively short period.

 

The first coins featured Raphael Maklouf's "3rd Portrait" of Queen Elizabeth, with Britannia herself riding a chariot on the reverse (a design re-used for 1999's bullion version) and this coin is the only silver Brit not to have used Ian Rank-Broadley's "4th portrait" on the obverse as featured above.

 

From 1998 the first "bullion" standard coins were issued along with proofs, at first using the classic Philip Nathan standing Britannia design which remained on the reverse for 2 more years, during which there were no new proofs. Following this, in 2001 the mint decided to issue a new 'single year' design bi-annually (alternating with the standing design), meaning that within the first 16 years of production, there are a plethora of different coins to collect with unique reverses, and all of them are quite rare: Mintages for bullion were limited to a miserly 100,000 whilst proof issues varied, but were as low as 2,500 in some years. 

 

Sadly this slightly eccentric way of doing things came to an end in 2013 when the mint made three landmark changes: New bullion coins would be minted in unlimited quantities, silver alloy was switched to .999 silver, and the reverse design for bullion would be fixed as the "standing" design (though proof coins would continue to change annually). This wasn't quite the end of the Britannia as a constantly-changing coin though; a tie-in with US importer A-Mark saw a specially commissioned "year of the snake" edge design, and it's certainly possible that more like this could follow.

 

The switch to .999 initially brought a lot of criticism, as the finish was perceived to be below standard on the 2013 coins due to the softer alloy, however the 2014 was much improved; it is nice to know some mints do care about their output.

 

Care? Well not a lot! In 2014 the Royal Mint used the wrong obverse on around 17,000 Brits, accidentally using dies that were designed for their Lunar "year of the horse" series. The resulting  "mule Britannia" as it is known, is just one more variant to an already diverse range. How very British.

 

So, whilst modern Britannias don't have quite the collectable aspect of earlier issues, they are still an evocative national symbol and an attractive coin. For British stackers they are one of the few silver legal tender coins that can be sold without capital gains tax, and with unlimited mintage now everyone can have one. Chances are, after the first - you'll want more.

[Danny-boy]

My favourite coin, and a fantastic introduction to the coin.

Well done again SS.

[klacey]

These should be stickied. Fantastic read, well done sir.

[Danny-boy]

These should be stickied. Fantastic read, well done sir.

Chris (the boss), quite rightly has an issue with stickies as it clogs the screen up when viewing on mobile, as many people do.

I do think it might be possible to create a new sub-forum specifically for these posts that SS is creating.

They are so informative and well written, they deserve it. Perfect for new and seasoned stackers.

We'll see what Chris thinks.

[silversword]

Thanks guys. I must say I was quite surprised to learn how this particular coin has evolved. Makes me wish I had known about silver coins a few years ago and gotten myself some of the first Brits in 958 silver. Oh well. Now I know why older issues still hold a bit of a premium.

[Danny-boy]

Thanks guys. I must say I was quite surprised to learn how this particular coin has evolved. Makes me wish I had known about silver coins a few years ago and gotten myself some of the first Brits in 958 silver. Oh well. Now I know why older issues still hold a bit of a premium.

It's never too late SS [emoji1]

[silversword]

Yeah but my average £/oz... 

[Danny-boy]

Yeah but my average £/oz...

Dude, you don't worry about £/oz when we are talking Britannias.

Go and wash your mouth out!!!!

[silversword]

Dude, you don't worry about £/oz when we are talking Britannias.

Go and wash your mouth out!!!!

 

Yes sir 

[Danny-boy]

Yes sir

Good boy.

If you are that obedient, go out and buy a 1998-2014 date run, immediately.

[alec86]

does anyone have a link to a web page that has pic's of all the different Britannia's? 

[Danny-boy]

does anyone have a link to a web page that has pic's of all the different Britannia's?

http://www.1oz.si/index.php?route=product/category&path=39_74

[garthy]

Great write up SS, I think coin dealers should link your description to their coins, great job.

 

As for the Britannia I have to say it's my favourite coin, I'm up to 162oz and counting, you can't beat them!

[Keithoil]

I only need a 2000, 2003, and a 2004, and 2009 I will have a complete date run!!!

[Keithoil]

@Garthy

 

You have beat me I am at 144 oz with the Brits.

[garthy]

@Garthy

 

You have beat me I am at 144 oz with the Brits.

 

Just, but I only have 2012, 2013, 2014 and the privy snake, but I think SS has now inspired me to go for the whole date run.

[Danny-boy]

Go for the date run boys, I have two and they are always the first coins I look over when I visit my collection.

[CurryMuncher69]

Hate the price tag, Why is it so expensive compared to other coins. 

Spot Price is 12.31 at the moment and these coins on Silver to go is 16.13 per coin. Why would you but this coin over the Saltwater Crocodiles with its HUGE popularity and a mintage of a million, and it costs 15.57 per coin. 

Or the Mexican Libertad which is bang on 15 quid per coin. 

Personally I rather get Chinese Panda's I rather pay the extra 28 quid to get 20 panda's then 20 Britannia's, As the return you get from panda's is much higher then if you bought the Britz coin.

IF they allowed the coin to be sold VAT free in the UK, with that CGT free, then without a shadow of a doubt 60 percent of my stack would be the Britz coins, and the other 40 being Semi numismatic for a Short flipping potential,  

[HelpingHands]

Chris (the boss), quite rightly has an issue with stickies as it clogs the screen up when viewing on mobile, as many people do.

I do think it might be possible to create a new sub-forum specifically for these posts that SS is creating.

They are so informative and well written, they deserve it. Perfect for new and seasoned stackers.

We'll see what Chris thinks.

 

 

Maybe the OP for each coin could be copied into a thread with no replies (similiar to the thread on perth coins). 

[Keithoil]

I also have one of the Brits with the snake on the edge.

 

I might look into getting the other coins!!!

[morezone]

Hate the price tag, Why is it so expensive compared to other coins. 

IF they allowed the coin to be sold VAT free in the UK, with that CGT free, then without a shadow of a doubt 60 percent of my stack would be the Britz coins, and the other 40 being Semi numismatic for a Short flipping potential,  

 

Everything from the Royal Mint is more expensive.  That's the way the Royal Mint rolls.

 

You're almost getting it VAT free from Germany so it won't actually make any difference to you really.  If you take ALL the VAT off then you will need to purchase 100 coins from Atkinson's to hit £15.57 and to hit £15, you need 1000.

[silversword]

Hate the price tag, Why is it so expensive compared to other coins.

Spot Price is 12.31 at the moment and these coins on Silver to go is 16.13 per coin. Why would you but this coin over the Saltwater Crocodiles with its HUGE popularity and a mintage of a million, and it costs 15.57 per coin.

Or the Mexican Libertad which is bang on 15 quid per coin.

Personally I rather get Chinese Panda's I rather pay the extra 28 quid to get 20 panda's then 20 Britannia's, As the return you get from panda's is much higher then if you bought the Britz coin.

For one thing, there is cost of production. Things made in Britain are expensive due to our high labour cost. Also Mexico (Libertad), China (Panda) and Australia (Croc) are 3 of the world's top 4 silver producers; they have a plentiful supply of raw materials right on their doorstep. Britain doesn't even make the top 20, and any imports just increase costs

[garthy]

I remember buying britannias about a year ago and apart from maples and phillys they were the cheapest, I think it's because we have a strong pound at the moment making imports cheaper and exports more expensive.

[AgAuNEWS]

If it's any help, I've had a bullion guide up for some time with some good images. Hope you find it useful.

 

http://agaunews.com/portfolio-items/brittania/?portfolioID=4097

[Danny-boy]

If it's any help, I've had a bullion guide up for some time with some good images. Hope you find it useful.

http://agaunews.com/portfolio-items/brittania/?portfolioID=4097

Nice Mik, but your mintages are mostly wrong mate.

1998 - 88,909

1999 - 69,394

2000 - 81,301

2001 - 44,816

2002 - 36,543

2003 - 73,271

2004 - 57,000

2005 - 57,000

2006 - 50,300

2007 - 94,000

2008 - 100,000

2009 - 100,000

2010 - 129,086

2011 – 269,282

2012 – 361, 870

All as confirmed in writing from Chris Barker, Director of the Royal Mint Museum.

They are still compiling mintages for the proofs and sets from their old hand written records.