I haven't seen much Britannia chatter here so thought I'd start some discussion. Proofs and sets are available at the Royal Mint for pre-order. I haven't collected Britannias much, but I have always been a fan of the various renditions of a beautiful female warrior. It seems like this year the mintage is insanely low, I'm used to the gajillion coins the US MINT churns out. The 5 oz Britannia puck has only 600 minted, that's an insanely low number. The problem is, with the currency exchange and low mintage, the price is about $550, or well over $100 an ounce (I forgot the exact conversion less VAT). The 6 coin proof set comes in at about $300, for less than 2 ounces of silver! I've rationalized that the price is really for the rarity and not the pm content, but it's a tough one. The golds are even rarer, with only 50 of the 5 oz gold pucks minted and coming in at over $12K (again, approximate). One thing I find odd, is with such low mintages, why didn't the pre-sell sell out in seconds or minutes (Poseidon coin from Perth, or even US Mint gold HOF coin, which was a few days)? If you haven't seen them yet, it's a beautiful design, at least the Britannia side. These are definitely not for the stacker.
As a collector of modern decimal British coins, the Britannia series is an expensive one. So expensive, in fact, that I have never purchased any. The coins have wonderful designs. The Royal Mint does not seem to market their bullion coins as investments similar to the way the American Eagle, the Canadian Maple Leaf or the various Australian series are done. There also seems to be less emphasis on the Britannia collector proof versions. Traditionally, British decimal proof coins and sets, regardless of design or metal content have low mintage figures.
It seems the Royal Mint is extremely high in prestige, right up there with the US Mint. Could it be that the British in general aren't in to bullion coins as much as their american counterparts? I could see the price turning off most of the rest of the world due to currency exchange, but surely there are enough collectors in England to snap these low mintages up in a blink of an eye. I wish I followed how quick sell outs were in previous years. In any case, with the high retail prices of these, any sort of appreciation seems not to be likely. It would be for the love of the design and a high production value product. doug44, you are correct, VAT is waived outside of England.
I think the idea of hoarding/stacking silver has not yet caught on in the U.K. Plus, the cost of living is higher (as a proportion of income), and the middle class has no extra money to buy bullion.
I collect the Britannia. I do it because I like the changing designs and it isn't as dull as the American Eagle. To each their own I say! Do I do it for profit? Well, one always hopes things will go up in value, but I just love owning some silver in my hand and the designs tend to be great.
I missed out on this coin I can't find it anywhere, and on ebay it is super overpriced. *sigh* I'm wondering if I should just wait and get it on ebay if the price goes down. I love the look of this coin...
I love britannias and I do own all of the bullion coins. I have thought about the proof versions of the series but money has been an issue so have passed on them. I am disappointed that the design on the bullion coin does not change anymore. I hope the Royal mint would reconsider this move.
