Bath Spa Capital Ltd offers a range of gold coinage. Whether you are a collector putting together a definitive set or series or an investor looking for assets as a hedge against inflation, our wide-ranging inventory of gold coinage and knowledgeable team will cater to your needs.
All of the coins offered by Bath Spa Capital are minted by central mints. A central mint is a facility that produces legal tender coinage, typically by a central bank or on behalf of the government such as The Royal Mint Ltd (a limited company wholly owned by Her Majesty’s Treasury). The benefit of such coins is that they have a face value. Whilst these face values are usually far superseded by the coins intrinsic value, it is this face value and status as legal tender which exempts a metal coin from Capital Gains Tax, just one of the benefits of investing in gold coins as opposed to gold bars.
Gold Britannia Coins
Britannia coins were first issued in 1987 to satisfy the demand for larger gold coins. They are so-called as the reverse features a depiction of Britannia, the personification of Great Britain. They are available in denominations of £800, £500, £200, £100, £50, £25, £10, £1 and 50 pence and have a pure gold content of 30 oz (933 grams), 5 oz (155.5 grams), 2 oz (62.2 grams), 1 oz (31.1 grams), 1/2 oz (15.5 grams), 1/4 oz (7.75 grams), 1/10 oz (3.11 grams), 1/20 oz (1.55 grams) and 1/40 oz (0.77 grams) respectively.
Reverse of a 2021 gold Britannia one hundred pounds
Gold Five Pounds
The Royal Mint offers the five pounds (£5) denomination in two types. There is the quintuple sovereign type which features Benedetto Pistrucci’s iconic St. George and the dragon design. This type was first minted in 1820 albeit as a pattern (a proposed coin that was never minted), it was minted under the subsequent monarchs for limited dates and these were typically proof coins. It was not until the year 1980 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II that it has been struck almost every year to the current day. The other type of five pounds, is a typically commemorative coin that is struck for important anniversaries and events such as royal jubilees and birthdays and anniversaries such as the centenary of the end of World War 2. Both types of five pounds weigh 39.94 grams and have a pure gold content of 1.177 troy ounces (36.5 grams).
Reverses of a 2021 gold five pounds and quintuple sovereign
Gold Two Pounds
The Royal Mint also offers the gold two pounds (£2) denomination in two types, the double sovereign type which also features Benedetto Pistrucci’s iconic St. George and the dragon design and the commemorative type which are typically struck for important anniversaries and events, some of this commemorative type are also struck in base metal for circulation. These two pounds weigh 15.96 grams and have a pure gold content of 14.63 grams.
Reverses of a 2021 gold double sovereign and two pounds
Gold Sovereign
The sovereign, the UK’s flagship gold coin, was first minted in 1817 and its design has not changed much over the last two centuries, featuring the monarch on the obverse and Benedetto Pistrucci’s St. George and the dragon on the reverse. Since its inception it has had a face value of one pound (£1) and a total weight of 7.98 grams, its pure gold content is 7.32 grams.
Reverse of a 2021 gold sovereign
Other Currency Issues
Proof coins have existed since the practice of minting coins by machine (as opposed to hand striking). The purpose of these proofs, or proof or records as they were once known, is to showcase the intricacies of a design and highlight the engraver's skill. Today, these coin dies are carved by machine using sophisticated computer technology. When a new design is approved for general circulation, a gold proof example is usually issued for collectors in very limited quantities. These denominations are the one pound, the "old round" type weighing 19.6 grams with a pure gold content of 17.97 grams, the newer dodecagonal types weights 17.72 grams with a pure gold content of 16.24 grams. Fifty pence, the older larger type weighs 26.32 grams with a pure gold content of 24.13 grams, the newer small size issued from 1997 weighs 15.5 grams with a pure gold content of 14.21 grams. Twenty pence weigh 9.74 grams with a pure gold content of 8.93 grams, ten pence weigh 12.65 grams with a pure gold content of 11.6 grams , five pence weigh 6.32 grams with a pure gold content of 5.59 grams, two pence weigh 13.96 grams with a pure gold content of 12.8 grams and one pence weigh 6.98 grams with a pure gold content of 6.4 grams.
Reverses of gold proof one pounds, fifty pence and one penny.
Gold Piedfort Coins
A piedfort is a coin which is (usually) twice as thick and twice the weight of its regular counterpart, the obverse and reverse are unchanged as is the diameter of the coins. Piedfort is a combination of the French words pied (foot) and fort (heavy) which translates as 'heavy foot' which is an idiom of 'heavy weight'. Coins such as these are produced in very limited quantities and are usually struck to proof standards.
Thickness of a gold proof fifty pence versus a standard issue type