British Gold coins of Royal coinage

British gold coins of the Royal coinage begin their history from the middle of the XIII century, when the head of Britain was King Henry III. All Great Britain gold coins in our catalog. Since then, each of the rulers, replacing his predecessor, minted coins of their own type. Some of the British gold coins of the Royal coinage are so rare that they are preserved in a single sample and are kept in the British National Museum.

Each of the coins is primarily of historical value and is the subject of interest of numismatists and collectors around the world, and modern gold coins of Great Britain are primarily investment.

Types of British Gold Coins

Penny

Chasing of Henry III

• 1 penny of 1257

Florins

Chasing of Edward III

• “Double Leopard” −1 florin of 1343−1344

• “Leopard” − ½ florin of 1343−1344
•  “Helm” − ¼ florin of 1343−1344

Nobles

Chasing of Edward III

•  1 noble of 1344−1361

• ½ noble of 1344

•  ¼ noble of 1344

  Chasing of Henry IV

•  1 noble of 1412
•  ½ noble of 1412
•  ¼ noble of 1412
  

  Chasing of Henry VIII

•  “George, killing the snake” − 1 noble of 1509−1547
• “George, killing the snake” − ½ noble of 1509−1547

Ryals

Chasing of Edward IV

• “Noble with a rose” or “Rosenoble” − 1 ryal of 1464−1470

Chasing of Henry VII

• 1 ryal of 1485−1509

Chasing of Jacob I

•  “Ryal with a rose” − 1 ryal of 1603−1625
•  ½ ryal of 1603−1625

Angels

Chasing of Edward IV

• 1 Angel of 1461
• ½ Angel of 1472

Chasing of Henry VII

• “Saint Michael” − 1 Angel of 1485−1509

Chasing of Richard III

• ½ Angel of 1483−1485

Chasing of Elizabeth

•  1 Angel of 1558−1603
•  ½ Angel of 1558−1603
•  ¼ Angel of 1558−1603

Chasing of Jacob I

• 1 Angel of 1603−1625
• ½ Angel of 1603−1625

Chasing of Charles I

• 1 Angel of 1625−1643

Chasing of Elizabeth II

• 1 Angel of 2016

Sovereigns

Chasing of Henry VII

•  1 sovereign of 1489−1553

Chasing of Henry VIII

•  ½ sovereign of 1554

Chasing of Elizabeth

•  1 sovereign of 1558−1603

Chasing of Jacob I

• 1 sovereign of 1603−1625

Chasing of George III

• 1 sovereign of 1817, St. George

• ½ sovereign of 1817, St. George.

Chasing of Victoria

• 1 sovereign of 1884

Chasing of George IV

•  1 sovereign of 1912 “St. George”

1 Sovereign 1918 British gold coin in our catalog.

Chasing of George VI

•  1 sovereign of 1937

Chasing of Elizabeth II

•  1 sovereign of 1953−1957

Crowns

Chasing of Henry VIII

• 1 crown of 1526 “With a rose”;
• 1 crown of 1527;
• ½ crown 1527

Chasing of Elizabeth

• 1 crown of 1558−1603;
• ½ crown of 1558−1603

Chasing of Jacob I

• 2 crowns of 1604−1619;
•  1 crown of 1619−1625;
• ½ crown of 1619−1625

Chasing of Charles I

• 2 crowns of 1625−1649;
• 1 crown of 1625−1649

Pounds

Chasing of Elizabeth

•  1 pound of 1558−1603
• ½ pound of 1558−1603

Chasing of George IV

• 5 pounds of 1826
• 2 pounds of 1826

Chasing of Victoria

•  5 pounds of 1839

5 Pounds 1887 British gold coin in our catalog.

• 2 pounds of 1887
•  5 pounds of 1893
• 2 pounds of 1893

Chasing of Edward VI

• 5 pounds of 1902
• 2 pounds of 1902

Chasing of George V

•  5 pounds of 1911
• 2 pounds of 1911

Chasing of George VI

• 5 pounds of 1937
•  2 pounds of 1937

Chasing of Elizabeth II

• 2 pounds of 1987

• 100 pounds of 2017

Unites

Chasing of Jacob I

• 1 unite of 1604

Chasing of Charles I

• 3 units of 1642;
• 1 unit of 1642;
• ½ unite of 1642

Chasing of Jacob I

• 1 Laurel of 1619
• ½ Laurel of 1619

Shillings

• 20 shillings of 1625−1649

Guineas

Chasing of Charles II

• 5 guineas of 1663−1685
• 2 guineas of 1663−1685
• 1 guinea of 1663−1685
• ½ guinea of 1663−1685

Chasing of Anna

• 5 guineas of 1703

All Guineas 1702 – 1714 Anna British gold coins in our catalog.

Chasing George I

• ½ guinea of 1719

• ¼ guineas of 1718

Chasing of George II

• 2 guineas of 1739

Chasing of George III

•  1 guinea of 1797−1799

• ½ guinea of 1760−1820

•  guineas of 1797−1799

• ¼ guineaa of 1762

All 1760-1820 George 3 Great Britain gold coins in our catalog.

What Mint produces the coins?

Over the entire period of coins’ mintage in the UK, about 94 Mints were founded, which succeeded each other or united in their work. The very first Mint was founded by the Romans in the III century BC and functioned for about four decades. The own coins of the royal coinage in England were minted only during the reign of King Alfred the Great, and the Mint was located in London. The Royal Mint of Great Britain (The Royal Mint) since 1971 is located in South Wales in the city of Llantrisant, and its history goes back over 1100 years.

Today, the Royal Mint is one of the departments of the current government, and its main responsibility remains the coins’ mintage for the United Kingdom. Its impeccable reputation internationally allows minted coins to order for more than 100 countries. In April 1975, this Mint was reorganized into the Government Trade Fund.

Market value and circulation

Some gold coins of the Royal Coinage of Great Britain are preserved in quantities of several samples and are very rare:

• 1 penny of 1257 − 7 pieces
• 1 florin 1343−1344 − 3 pieces.

Their price on the market is very high, and it is possible to purchase only at closed auctions. For example, 1 gold florin of 1344 was sold for £ 460,000. The approximate cost of other types of gold British coins of the Royal coinage from different periods of coinage is given in the table:

Coin’s type, denomination and year of issue	Price ($ USD)
5 Guineas of 1773	60000-375000
½ Angels 1485-1485	12864,54-43739,45
2 Guineas 1739	540,31-2572,9
1 Sovereign 1857	141,51-707,55
1 Noble 1413-1422	1061,32-3344,78
1 Sovereign of 1957-1968	301,03

The cost of 1 sovereign of 1857, although many times higher than its denomination, is the lowest compared to other types of coins. Thus, their circulation amounted to 4495748 samples.

Interesting Facts

• Despite the fact that the golden sovereigns performed to some extent an economic function, demonstrating the impressive gold reserves of Great Britain, there was no particular need for such a high value of monetary units in the 15th century. The main prerequisite for the emergence of sovereigns was to a greater extent a political goal − to add brilliance and influence to the image of the new Tudor dynasty. Indeed, the sovereign appeared in 1489 precisely because the Tudors gained international recognition in the House of the Medina del Campo, because Arthur, the son and heir of Henry VII, had to marry a Spanish princess.

• The Angel coin was an English gold coin introduced by Edward IV in 1465. It was minted on the model of the French “angelote” or “angie”, which was minted since 1340. The name of the coin comes from the image on it of the Archangel Michael, who kills a snake.

• The English gold guinea was a quarter ounce gold coin that was minted between 1663 and 1814. Its name comes from the name of the Guinean region in West Africa, where most of the gold was mined for these coins’ production.

• Circulation of coins of 5 pounds denomination of 2008, made of 22−carat gold, amounted to only 750 samples.

• The auction house in the suburbs of London sold one of the rarest coins in the UK − Queen Anna “Vigo”. With an auction price of £ 225,000, or about $ 279,000, the coin is one of the 20 gold minted that the British received by capturing French-Spanish treasure ships in Vigo Bay in northern Spain in 1702. This is one of 15 famous coins that has been preserved and has been put up for sale over the past 50 years by order of the “Bonington’s” auction house. Preliminary estimates of auctions evaluate the price of this coin in the range from 240,000 to 300,000 $ USD.