For some reason, I just got an urge to get this set out again today. For those of you who are not aware of what the set is, back in 2003-2004, the US mint released a set that featured both a 2003 UNC ASE and a 2002 UNC Britannia 2 pound silver coin. What made this set so exciting was that the British 2 pound had a "reverse proof" look to it. Still after 3+ years these coins are still gorgeous. The ASE has absolutely no toning to it. The luster is incredible - one of the best I've seen on one of these coins. Cartwheels dance around this coin like they own it. The Britannia is stunning. The reverse proof look to it is incredible - although it is considered UNC. I don't know anything about British coins, but this coin is so gorgeous that it would make any grown man or woman weep. I get a tear every time I look at it. :kewl: Here is a link to see one on ebay since I don't have a camera to take pictures. http://cgi.ebay.com/2003-Legacies-o...ryZ39488QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I do have a question for the CT community.... the ASE weighs 31.10 grams and is .999 fine silver (1 oz.) The Britannia is 32.45 grams and is .958 Britannia Silver. What is the difference between fine silver and Britannia silver? Both coins say 1 oz on them, but the ASE is .999 and the Brit is .958 - does the weight difference have anything to do with the silver content? Thanks for everyone's input. Let me know what you all think.
The difference is the purity of the silver. The ASE silver 99.9% pure - the Britannia silver is 95.8% pure. That's why the Britannia is heavier, it has to be heavier to still contain 1 ounce of pure silver.
Makes complete sense. That's what I was thinking, but wanted confirmation. Is there any reason that they call it Britannia silver as opposed to fine silver?
no actually i picked something from the royal mint they had Britannia on one end (not side) of the reverse I think and the french mascot on the other so it was a unusual design and passed on this.
You've heard the term Sterling silver ? Well, Sterling silver, I think, originally came from France. But its most common use is from Great Britain because all of their silver coins, for centuries, were always .925 silver. And when they talked about British money they would refer to it as Pounds Sterling. Well, they don't use silver in their money any more and the silver used in the Britannia coins is not .925 - it's .958. So they had to come up with a new term, something different than Sterling silver. They chose Britannia silver. And in case ya didn't know - Britnnia is an allegorical figure, not someone who ever really existed. She is the symbol of Great Britain much like Lady Liberty is the symbol of the US.
Also the term "fine silver" if not used with a fractional qualifier such as .925, .958, .900 etc means pure or .999 silver. If you think of the word fine used this way to mean pure, them .925 would be 925 parts of pure silver per thousand.
One of the interesting things was back when the Legacies of Freedom set was released, the British government issued a very similar set with the same coins in it for I think it was 10 or 15 dollars less.
I don't remember hearing about that set. I did read about it on another thread that was posted a few years ago on CT. I tried looking for it on ebay, but I had no luck. There were only two Legacies of Freedom sets on ebay. Leadfoot - I agree, the British coin was Beautiful - wish the USmint would do something similar in an UNC coin.
