Royal Mint expands its bullion coin offerings with a gold Two Dragons and the third silver Landmarks of Britain

The Royal Mint is increasing its presence in the international gold and silver bullion coin markets with yet more new issues. Uncharacteristically for the mint, the last couple of years has seen a much bigger range of choice from the usual Britannia and Sovereigns that have served them well for many decades. Neither of these new issues is particularly unexpected or ground-breaking, but both are decent designs and very welcome.

The first of the two new issues is a gold version of the recently released Two Dragons bullion coin. Making its first appearance barely two months ago, the silver version was a very cool mix of Welsh and Chinese dragons – a clever amalgamation of the Royal Mints location and the intended market. The gold variant is copy of the same design and also weighs an ounce. No other sizes are available at present and the mintage on this one is capped at just 5,000 units.

The Landmarks of Britain coin is the third in the series and depicts Trafalgar Square. It follows the earlier Big Ben and Tower Bridge issues. These are bullion copies of a proof set released in mid-2014, so expect the last of the four to depict Buckingham Palace. Again, just a single format up for grabs and it’s the classic one-ounce silver and with a mintage of 50,000 pieces. Like the Two Dragons coin, this one has the guilloche finish to the obverse that looks pretty good.

Available to order now from Royal Mint Bullion directly or from dealers worldwide like LPM and APMEX.

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MINTS DESCRIPTION

TWO DRAGONS

Following the launch of the Two Dragons Silver One Ounce precious metal coin earlier this year, The Royal Mint has launched its dramatic ‘Two Dragons’ design on a limited edition one ounce gold bullion coin. The special design marks continued success with expansion into the Asian bullion market by the 1,100 year old organisation, based in Wales, UK.

Dragons are amongst the best known mythical beasts, and are found in legends all over the world. Wales is well known for the use of the fearsome creature as a symbol representing the country, whilst in Chinese mythology, dragons are said to control the elements and are thought to be symbols of power and strength.

Chris Howard, Director of Royal Mint Bullion, said of the Two Dragons coin launch: “With both Wales and Asia sharing dragons in common, it is only fitting that two different interpretations of the legendary creature are captured together on a coin to celebrate the two very different cultures – Welsh and Asian. “The Royal Mint Bullion team has been delighted with the warm welcome the organisation’s precious metal bullion coins have received in Asia.”

The Two Dragons coin has been designed by heraldic artist, Timothy Noad MA, HSDAD, FSSI, HFCLAS. Timothy holds the title of Herald Painter (heraldic artist) and Scrivener (calligrapher) for Her Majesty’s College of Arms in London, and is also Scribe and Illuminator to Her Majesty’s Crown Office at the House of Lords.

A limited mintage run of 5,000 of this special coin has been struck in 999.9 gold, minted to bullion standard and carrying the UK Government assurance of weight and purity. A further addition is the textured ‘guilloche’ finish that appears on the obverse, surrounding the portrait of Her Majesty The Queen by Jody Clark.

LANDMARKS OF BRITAIN

The coin designs are the inspiration of two of The Royal Mint’s coin designers, Laura Clancy and Glyn Davies, who set about capturing the spirit of the instantly-recognisable British landmarks in a contemporary way. Their artwork shows each location viewed through the eyes of a visitor, seen through passing crowds or rain showers, inspiring the feel of a snapshot or an impressionist painting.

Describing his inspiration for the scenes, Glyn Davies said, “When we visited these iconic London places, it struck us that it’s never possible to get an uninterrupted view of them without being obscured in some way by the weather, or by admiring tourists who come from all over the world to see them. This gave us the idea of capturing the familiar scenes in a different, almost photographic way, with a fresh approach”.

The resulting ‘Landmarks of Britain’ series presents precious metal investors with a collection of exciting contemporary artwork on coins, reflecting the familiar British scenes. All the coins bear the obverse ‘fifth portrait’ portrait of Her Majesty The Queen by Royal Mint Coin Designer, Jody Clark.

Nick Bowkett, Head of Sales for Royal Mint Bullion said “We are delighted to introduce The Royal Mint’s exciting ‘Landmarks of Britain’ bullion coins to a whole new audience. Investors can now pick up their own contemporary artwork of familiar British scenes on silver bullion coins”.

The limited mintage of 50,000 of the ‘Landmarks of Britain’ Trafalgar Square bullion coin is available through specific bullion wholesalers worldwide.

SPECIFICATION
COIN TWO DRAGONS LANDMARKS OF BRITAIN
DENOMINATION £100 UKP £2 UKP
COMPOSITION 0.9999 gold 0.999 silver
WEIGHT 31.21 grams 31.21 grams
DIMENSIONS 32.69 mm 38.61 mm
FINISH Bullion Bullion
MINTAGE 5,000 50,000
BOX / COA No / No No / No