British Gold Coins
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[edit] Introduction
The gold coins of Great Britain are perhaps the most beautiful of all the coins produced by the Royal Mint and, because they have not often seen much circulation, they are almost always in excellent condition. Gold does not tarnish as other metals do, so even ancient gold will sparkle as if it were brand new.
Gold coins are also a very interesting way of investing in precious metal and have generally produced good returns over the long-term.
[edit] A Brief History
[edit] In The Beginning....
Gold coins have existed in Britain since Celtic times. It is likely that these coins were used to store wealth rather than being used in day to day trading.
Roman gold coins were part of the Roman currency system and would have been used for trading. There were several different currency systems in use at various times during the Roman occupation of Britain which are beyond the scope of this article.
With the withdrawal of the Roman forces in 410AD the minting of coinage in Britain stopped for well over a century. The first Saxon gold coins appeared from c600AD. The gold coinage of the Saxons was gradually debased with silver and eventually ceased c675AD.
[edit] Hammered Gold
It was in 1344 during the reign of Edward III that gold coins were next seen in Britain, starting with the "Double Florin (6s/0d)", "Florin" and "Half Florin". The "Florins" were superceded in the same year by the "Noble (6s/8d)" and it's fractions.
The Noble continued for 120 years until it was replaced with the "Ryal" (10s/0d), However the Ryal did not suit the needs of professional men and so a new 6s/8d coin called the "Angel" was minted.
It was in the reign of Henry VII that the first sovereign was issued, valued at 20s (£1). The Ryal was also reissued and the Angel also continued.
During the reign of Henry VIII the coinage was revalued and debased. This was a measure taken by the king to pay for his wars. The debasement continued until the reign of Mary.
The value of gold coinage changed often during the remaining years of hammered production.
[edit] Early Milled Gold
It was during the reign of Charles II that hammered coinage was discontinued in favour of machine milled coins.
The first milled gold pieces were called "Guineas" One Guinea was valued at 20s. There were also coins for "Two Guineas" and "Five Guineas".
The value of the guinea fluctuated widely until it settled at 21s during the Hanoverian Period.
[edit] Later Milled Gold
In 1816 the introduction of steam powered machinery enabled production of much better quality coins. Every British coin was redesigned and the following year a new sovereign (20s) was issued bearing the famous Pistrucci "George and the Dragon" design.
The popular Sovereign continued to be minted until 1915 when it was superceded by banknotes issued by the treasury. Other mints in the Commonwealth continued to mint sovereigns and minting finally stopped completely in 1932.
With the exception of a few gold proof coins issued in 1937 no further gold coins were minted until 1957 when the sovereign was again issued as a convenient way to hold gold bullion. We are therefore back to the situation of Celtic Britain where gold is issued to store wealth rather than for day to day trading.
Sovereigns (and other gold denominations) continue to be issued and are in great demand by investors and collectors worldwide.
