Silver Britannia, from the UK, is yet another way to invest in silver. While there’s nothing wrong with sticking with the staple (U.S. Silver Eagles), some investors are looking for a new, different look.
Like all other investment grade silver bullion, the Silver Britannia is one ounce of pure silver. And, with a two pound face value, it’s legal tender in the United Kingdom. Unlike the Silver Eagles, the Silver Britannia has a unique feature: limited mintage. The Royal Mint limits the worldwide issue to 100,000. This limit makes the potential collector value even higher than the silver spot value.
Background and History
As the Royal Mint explains, the year “2009 brings Philip Nathan’s dynamic portrayal of Britannia onto the £2, emphasising her strength and long associations with the sea. Framed by the ornate ‘romanesque-style’ crenellated border peculiar to Britannia coins, the reverse features the majestic figure of Britannia standing proud in her horse-drawn chariot as she races along the shore. The obverse features the portrait of Her Majesty The Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS.”
The Silver Britannia coin is produced as uncirculated quality, a higher quality than those found in your pocket, in .958 Britannia silver, a purer standard of alloy than sterling silver.
The Royal Mint continues to say, “the iconic figure of Britannia has featured on the coinage for centuries and has graced both decimal and pre-decimal coins of the Queen’s reign. Britannia was indeed an appropriate choice for the new bullion coins introduced in 1987. Philip Nathan submitted several designs as possibilities for the reverses including one which he felt appropriately linked Britannia with Boudicca. He was asked to adapt this particular design for the ‘Britannia coins of 1997, the year that the silver Britannias were introduced, and it has now been chosen for the coins of 2009.”
Where to Find the Silver Britannia Coin
Even though this coin is limited, it’s still possible to find this coin. First, you can find the coin straight from the Royal Mint (http://www.royalmint.com). There’s even a listing on Amazon.com. Finally, eBay remains a treasure trove for investors and collectors alike.
This isn’t a complete list of places to find the coin; you can often get some excellent deals from established silver coin dealers around. It always pays to shop around.
Regardless of if you are a collector or investor, the Silver Britannia coins are an excellent investment for coin collectors as well as being a beautiful coin for show. Silver Britannia coins are prized by collectors. Anyone who can manage to get one or more of the 2 pound Silver Britannia coin will be a very happy person indeed!
