20th Anniversary Brittannia - Trident Privy + Guilloché + Radial lines

Here is a coin that I just got in direct from The Royal Mint of the UK. This is the special 20th anniversary coin with a trident privy, gullioche pattern and radial lines. The privy mark is a Trident with "20" in between the tines. As the mint describes the new features: "2017 marks the 20th anniversary since the Britannia silver bullion coin was first released. To mark this occasion, the original design by Phillip Nathan has been updated to include an anniversary mark to denote the respective anniversary and the coin is limited to a production of 120,000. The obverse of the coin also includes the introduction of a new guilloché finish, providing an additional level of security for investors."
I ordered these from the mint and not only did that cost me twice what it would have from MCM I had to jump thru flaming hoops to order from the mint. To get an account I had to submit a copy of my passport , a bank statement and a utility bill. The madness didn't stop there because ordering and paying isn't simple like with 99% of other places. I had to do a bank transfer before making the purchase!
You may ask why I went the expensive route? This is because MCM sells raw coins that are rejects ( which won't work well for grading submissions) and I resent them being one of the companies that bought up all of the 2017-S congratulations set silver Eagle coins.
I didn't think I'd be overly impressed with this coin but it looks better than the photos by leaps and bounds! Here are 4 pictures which are pretty good considering they were taken with my Samsung Galaxy S7 phone.

 

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I wouldn't go through all those hoops for it, but it's a pretty coin.

 

Well, I figure that once I opened the account that I can order from them every year now with less hassle. If these happen to grade a 70 I'll be coming out ahead as well. If they both happen to grade 70 then I'll keep one and sell the other and will have a whole lot less in the coin than buying it straight up.
Besides, I'm determined to give a lot less business to the few big companies that bought up all of the 2017-s congrats set Eagles.

 

I ordered a set a few years ago and did not have to go through that mess. Are you sure you have to do that? And I don't even find that coin to be very attractive. I ordered this 6 coin proof set:


Now THIS is a nice design! Paid about $300 for the set, and just sold it for close to $900. They should take a hint and make coins like this again.

 

Yep, I'm VERY sure that I had to do all of that. You see, I bought "Bullion" coins. It is separate from buying a simple proof or uncirculated coins. The reason for all of the security is people buy massive amounts of bullion - like 400 ounce gold bars. Yeah, single bars that are over half a million dollars each. So, they make sure of who they are dealing with. They probably laughed at my $94 purchase. To access the site you go to the royal mint website and click the link to go to the royal mints bullion site.
They have their bullion program set up differently than the USA does. It has it's plus and minus's though. Here in the USA, unless you pay a premium and a ten thousand dollar purchase of a sealed monster box, there is always the probability that the dealer has highgraded the coins he sends. You can't really buy a US silver eagle bullion coin with the chance that it hasn't been looked at by a dealer who decides if they want you to have it or not. So the UK's system has the plus that you get coins straight from the mint. The minus is they are not just a few dollars over melt. They are about $8 over melt compared to $4 over melt here. But, these coins are a lot nicer than the Eagle bullion coins - they appear prooflike and come in individual capsules. It is pretty good for UK citizens who also get free shipping and don't have to pay an exchange rate on the currency like I did. I ended up paying $94 for 2 coins. It would have been less per coin if I had bought more, because there is a flat fee on shipping and I had to pay a fee for a bank wire. So it would have been much more reasonable if I had of bought ten coins instead of just two. I really wasn't interested in more than a couple of coins and I can't see buying from them but maybe a couple every year.

 

Also, Jwitten, keep in mind that what I bought are just "bullion" coins : the lowest of the low. Even though they look proof-like and have special handling they are the bottom of the rung, similar to our bullion silver eagles that sell for a couple dollars above melt. This coin isn't supposed to be a proof or a premium uncirculated coin.
I wasn't too hot on the design myself in the website's photos - it's just that I like to have every year's design of the Britannia. Since this is the anniversary with the trident privy and the first time to feature a gullioche finish I felt like that I pretty much had to have it for my collection. In person the coin is actually very nice but that doesn't carry over in photographs very well.
The year before they came up with a rough finish ( I forget the technical term for it) and I bought one even though I think it looks pretty much awful!

 

Nice set, I have the 2012 9 pc. 1/2oz. Portrait set. (Has all 9 different reverse designs) I paid under $200 for it, but on EBAY, your lucky to find one for under $500. They hold their premium well, also. I also have a few OP coins.
Very hard to photograph. (for me anyway)