Do you find the idea of buying gold coins attractive, but don’t know where to begin? Whether you are just considering beginning to collect Britannia gold coins or even if you have already collected British gold coins for some time, this article may well be helpful to you.

Since trade began, almost every country will have made or is still producing some sort of gold coins. In the past a variety of these gold coins were in fact used during every day lives as everyday cash. But today these types of coins are made especially for collectors of coins or investors in gold. If you choose to make gold part of your portfolio and would love a collection that is attractive to show-off or enjoy as a fascinating pastime; nothing can beat building a gold coin collection.

You might like to construct your collection based on modern coins or alternatively hoard older coins or a mixture of both types. Gold coins are made in assorted values and weights, this means that everyone may collect even on a strict budget. Certain internet websites or coin dealers can make up a collection of gold coins originating from various countries and will then send this selection to you. The amount you will pay for these packages will range between £500-£3,000. Within them, the amount of gold coins you get will be dependent upon a number of factors for instance: The existing gold price; weight and size of the gold coins; how rare they are and also their carat value.

Britannia gold coins are produced in several different weights; in this case we are talking about the one ounce coin – precise weight 34.050g. These coins are 22 carat gold or 0.917 fineness. The one ounce gold Britannia has a face value of £100; however they are worth far more than that as today’s price for gold is almost £700 per ounce. You could expect to pay between seven and eight hundred pounds for one of these coins. If that is beyond your means, there are also half ounce, quarter ounce and one tenth ounce Britannias.

Many places currently produce their own bullion gold coin to compete with the first gold bullion coin – the South African Krugerrand. Some countries also make commemorative coins to record the observance of an event or a specific event itself. Commonly, these commemorative coins are issued as presentation packs, plus in some cases will likely be of a limited number, in order that no more than a certain amount are issued. This idea promotes their scarcity appraisal together with the desirability of these gold coins.

One more financial benefit to building a collection of these coins may be that in a large number of places this can be a free of taxes method for investment since today most countries don’t put tax on these coins whilst they could continue to be used as money. However in fact, any person would be unhinged to use a gold sovereign in order to purchase some bits and pieces costing a pound since they are worth up to £150 at today’s gold scrap value.

If you begin investing in Britannia gold coins you will need to pay more for coins in extra fine condition. Usually, coins for sale are graded and the value of your gold coins varies dependent on what grading the coins have. Your ungraded coins will ultimately need to be graded for condition by a professional grader anytime you decide to sell the gold coins. It is possible to usually obtain uncirculated issues of just about any still produced coins and although you will probably pay out a premium for this quality of coin, they should be in flawless condition and may be a most worthwhile buy.

Collecting coins is an interesting hobby but can also be an extremely valuable investment strategy. There are many opportunities available to expand a coin collection at little cost, however if you plan to collect gold and silver coins the initial cost will be higher. Rare vintage coins may sell for enormous sums, but there are still many bargains to be had.

Early Gold Coins

The Romans mainly used silver coins because the metal was freely available, and could be made into a durable alloy by adding a small amount of copper. They regarded gold primarily as being primarily for jewellery and rarely used it for coins.

From the 6th century BC, coins were struck in relative weights, so that one gold coin was worth 20 of the same weight in silver. Something along these lines survived in Britain until the outbreak of World War I, with one gold sovereign being worth 20 silver shillings.

The fineness or quality of gold was, and still is based on a unit known as the carat which, as well as being a weight, represents a 24th part. Using this measurement, pure gold is described as 24 carat. The purest gold used for medieval coins was 23 carat 3 ½ grains (.997 fine), which was the highest quality that could be produced at the time. English gold was reduced to 20 carat by 1545, but was eventually set at 22 carat (.9167 fine). This was originally known as ‘crown gold’ due to its initially being used for the crown series of coins. The remaining percentage was made up of copper, added to produce a long-lasting alloy with a reddish lustre and this 22 carat gold continues to be used for sovereigns today.

The USA eventually settled on .900 gold fineness. Mexico opted for .875, while France and Germany preferred .900 fine. The first major bullion coin of recent times, the Krugerrand, was also minted to .9167 standard (22 carat; the most practical and hard-wearing quality), but later bullion coins were made for the highest purity. Canada achieved .999 pure gold for the Maple Leaf (from 1979), but improving refining techniques brought the famous ‘four nines’ gold introduced in 1983. Bullion coins now have both the weight and fineness of the metal inscribed on them.

British Gold Coins

Gold Guineas – The gold guinea was first issued in 1663 under Charles II and was named this because most of the gold came from Guinea in Africa. It was valued at 20 shillings, but this increased as the price of gold climbed. The very last guinea was issued in 1813, as the ‘Great Recoinage’ of 1816 replaced it with the pound, though it continued in common parlance valued at 21 shillings, until 1971 when the move towards decimal coinage made it obsolete.

It is important to remember the different finenesses of gold used when thinking of investing in or collecting old coins 22 carat was used for the sovereign (20 shillings), half sovereign (10 shillings) and crown (5 shillings), but 23.5 carat for the noble (6s 8d) and its sub-divisions. The gold guinea (21 shillings) was replaced by the sovereign in 1816.