For the third year in sucession the Royal Mint is launching a £100 face-value coin, this time depicting a view of Trafalgar Square, with Nelsons Column and one of the sculptor Edwin Lanseer’s superb bronze lions. It isn’t a new piece of artwork, rather a reworking of one of the four designs in 2014’s Portrait of Britain series. In that case the coin had an unusual colour ‘wash’ over selective parts of the reverse, but it’s cleanly struck here. Previous coins depicted Buckingham Palace in 2015, and Big Ben in 2014, also based on previously issued artwork from the Portrait set. Just Tower Bridge remains, so it’s likely that design will adorn the 2017 entrant.
Mounted to an informative card as before, it’s actually a nice design undertaken by the engravers, Laura Clancy and Glyn Davies, in a softer, less defined style than usual. We think it works well, although it’s a shame the two ounce coin remains at 40mm diameter instead of taking advantage of the extra weight to expand the coin surface area. A penalty of it being a face value design no doubt. The obverse is the new one from Jody Clark.
Available to purchase from the Royal Mint website right now, the mintage is limited to 45,000 units, down from the 50,000 of the previous releases. There has been rising concern about the ability to cash these in for face value and the mint has started incorporating some notes in their coin description to clarify matters, which we’ve reproduced below.
REVERSE, OBVERSE & PACKAGING
MINTS DESCRIPTION
HEART OF THE CAPITAL
The Trafalgar Square 2016 UK £100 Fine Silver Coin is the latest in the Commemorative fine sliver coin series. Architect John Nash designed Trafalgar Square as a cultural space, open to the public. Its focal point is Nelson’s Column with its statue of Admiral Lord Nelson, gazing down on everything below. It honours his victory against the Spanish and French at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Trafalgar Square is also a showcase for British art and sculpture with the National Gallery housed on the north side.
Since it was officially named in the 1830s it has remained a living square at the heart of the capital. Thousands of people visit every year while Edwin Landseer’s famous bronze lions, guarding the base of Nelson’s Column, remain a tourist favourite. On New Year’s Eve, and during significant celebrations, such as royal weddings, it fills with people celebrating or sporting Union Jack flags. It is also a popular place for people to gather, attend political protests or hold vigils in times of national crisis.
The Trafalgar Square 2016 UK £100 coin is the third in the £100 Commemorative fine silver series designed by Royal Mint coin designers Glyn Davies and Laura Clancy. Previous £100 coins have featured their designs for Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.
One of Edwin Landseer’s bronze lions takes centre stage while Nelson’s Column stands in the distance, conveying the square’s sense of space.Their design was modeled in clay rather than traditional plaster, creating a more fluid, sketch-like appearance.
Commemorative coins are generally treasured for their aesthetic and collectable value, or for their rarity. Collectors appreciate the detailed hand-finished processes and expert skills used to make them. All coins made by The Royal Mint are legal tender, whether commemorative or circulating. However, only circulating legal tender coins are designed to be spent and traded at businesses and banks.This coin is a commemorative coin so banks, post offices and shops will not accept them. If individual customers wish to discuss the return of this coin now or in the future please contact our customer services team on 0345 6088 300.
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SPECIFICATION
| DENOMINATION | COMPOSITION | WEIGHT | DIAMETER | FINISH | MINTAGE | BOX / COA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £100 UKP | 0.999 SILVER | 62.86 g | 40.0 mm | B/UNC | 45,000 | CARD / YES |
MINT LINK
The fourth and final coin in the Royal Mint £100 fine silver 2 troy oz. Portrait of Britain series will feature Tower Bridge.
“Commemorative coins are generally treasured for their aesthetic and collectable value”
Hmm, yes, that is true. However, these type of coins were never intended to be commemorative issues.
In fact they were lauded from day one by the RM as something quite different.
From the moment the RM saw this little gem of a money making scheme working so well for other world mints, they embraced it greedily.
…
They gathered some suits together, i’m sure there were some graphs/projections and the like, and said –
so all we have to do is stamp any denomination we choose on a range of silver weight blanks, assure the public of the legal tender status of the face value and they’ll be queuing up! We’ll tell them they can’t lose, their £100 will always be there.
What’s that you ask, any particular strike? That’s the beauty of it – no special finish or attention required, standard bullion strike and we’re done!
Eh, what’s that? The relationship to silver spot price? Irrelevant – as we said this range will have face values and that will be the price.
And, wait for it, unlike our other bullion products where we have to follow spot price with a pesky modest premium….. we get 300% premium over spot price of the silver we use for this range. Ka-ching!
To achieve premiums like that normally, we would have to proof mint them, and come up with an original design too!
What’s that? Will we be setting aside any of the raked-in revenues to honour and redeem any of the coins people do decide to spend in shops or banks in the future?
Of course not, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but we’re sure it will never come up.
Incidentally, chaps, as head of marketing i’ll be taking a bonus for this wheeze of a plan.
An additional bonus to any of you who can come up with a public statement in the future which explains why we’re in the right, and the silly public are wrong for thinking that £100 meant it was worth the £100 stamped on it.
Oh, before i forget – i’m a little strapped for cash until my bonus comes through.
Can i get £100 from each of you? I’ll write you each a promissory note, and sign it.
It’ll be a limited edition signed promissory note – you may want to hang on to it rather than redeem it.
Meeting closed.
I have the Big Ben and Buckingham Palace £100 coins, i also have the £50 and the first 4 £20s but im finished collecting these. The word commemorative sticks in the throat of anyone believing how Royal Mint first marketed these coins. I collect coins that i hope will increase in value, a way of saving up and also cool hobby, i bought the face value coins as a way of saving, not impressed with the quality or the uninspired designs but the face value was a massive appeal and i eagerly looked forward to each susequent release and planned to get all releases for the next decade or more.
The only inspiration i get from this release is my hope that i am able to offload the previous releases and get my money back due to some hope of a minor resurgence in demand as i was fooled into thinking i was putting money to one side in such a form and not throwing my money away purchasing a very poor commemorative coin. I wanted these coins to be so much more but the Royal Mint are adamant that they are worth so much less. Nobody collecting these had any asperations of purchasing items at the local store as fantastically stupid comments have insinuated but to deposit them and or exchange for currency in a bank should have been absolute and the demand would have continued to increase making holding them all the more valuable. A fantastic disappointment and im now justified spending £100 on anything else but this.
It was a terrible shame that the Royal Mint’s series of £100 for £100, £50 for £50 and £20 for £20 fine silver coins were declared by the Royal Mint to be no longer actual “legal tender” that could be spent as cash or be redeemed for face value at UK banks. These silver coins are now essentially bullion coins and should be priced according to their melt value. The £100 fine silver coins contain 2 troy ounce. The £50 fine silver coins contain 1 troy ounce. The £20 fine silver coins contain ½ troy ounce. On 6 June 2016, the price of silver was $16.50/troy oz. and £1 = $1.45.
$16.50/troy oz. x 2 troy oz. = $33 x £1/$1.45 = £22.76.
$16.50/troy oz. x 1 troy oz. = $16.50 x £1/$1.45 = £11.38.
$16.50/troy oz. x 0.5 troy oz. = $8.25 x £1/$1.45 = £5.69.
I have bought some Queens Beast 2oz silver bullion coins, i paid £35 each. The Queens Beast is the exact same weight and a far superior quality. Given the choice of 3 x 2oz beasts against 1 x £100 with nothing more than an unrealistic and dishonourable value stamped on it which is the better purchase? A 5oz high relief kookaburra with a 1000 mintage costs a touch less ounce for ounce compared to this! infact now the face value has no confidence i would suggest this coin being the absolute worst purchase anyone investing in precious metals could make. I initially believed the gimick was that inflation would reduce the value of the coin over time but knowing this i was happy and most willing as this was preferable to having fiat currency under the matress, and/or in the bank!
Yep, even the excellent Australian Stock Horse series can be had for under €40! And their mintage? 10k if I am not mistaken? What was the 1oz £50 mintage? 10x times that at 100k!
I suggest the Royal Mint reduce the price of the £100 commemorative two ounce silver coin to £35 in order to be on par with the Queen’s Beast £5 two ounce silver bullion coin. Both silver coins are of the same fineness and weight and their face values are meaningless in regards to being real legal tender as cash or redemption value.
It’s definitely very disappointing that these issues have arisen and reflects poorly on the mints for not thinking this through better. At the very least the Royal Mint should guarantee to buy back the coin at its face value upon request, like I believe the Royal Canadian Mint does. That mint has even had to set aside money just for that reason as more and more buyers get disenchanted by the whole idea of these. I’ll see if I can get a statement of intent from the mint and will publish it on site.
Had the Royal Mint priced these face silver coins closer to their bullion values, then the 2 troy oz. fine silver coin should have had a face value of £25 instead of £100, the 1 troy oz. fine silver coin should have had a face value of £12 instead of £50, and the ½ troy oz. fine silver coin should have had a face value of £5 instead of £20.
I also have the same coins as you Russell, stopped a the same time! First 2x £100, 1x £50 and the first 4x £20s! I think most of us were indeed duped by the face value and legal tender promise… I even got some non-collector friends to buy the first £100 as they also thought they were “exchanging” £100 for £100 as the RCM put it!! You should see the face of one of them when I told them that they “might” be able to get £100 pounds back if they now sell it!
I love it how the RM also now say: “All coins made by The Royal Mint are legal tender, whether commemorative or circulating. However, only circulating legal tender coins are designed to be spent and traded at businesses and banks.”
By definition, “Legal Tender = coins or banknotes that must be accepted if offered in payment of a debt”. Must, being the operative word!
Extremely disappointed like everyone else. I am not buying any more for sure, unless they release one with my face on it! lol I decided I am keeping the first of each denomination and I will see if I can return the rest. If not, will sell them, even at a loss.
George