The Royal Mint launches its eagerly anticipated 2024 Britannia proof range and it’s a beautiful piece by a French artist

One of the highlights of the numismatic calendar, certainly for the more classical-leaning collector, has been the Royal Mint’s proof Britannia range. The series split from the bullion range in 2012, when those coins standardised on the Philip Nathan interpretation of the iconic British female personification, and the proof range went on to have a new, unique design every year.

For 2024, the mint has employed the talents of acclaimed French author and illustrator Marie-Alice Harel, who has a great sense of style and imagination. Her work here is outstanding, in our view. Britannia is depicted in profile, wearing a helmet emblazoned with a rampant heraldic lion. We particularly like the way the plume on her helmet makes a transition to waves facing her, arcing around the coin as it does so. It’s a terrific nod to Britain’s maritime history.

As you may have guessed, we’re huge fans of this year’s Britannia. It manages to incorporate all the iconic elements of what is surely one of the most recognisable national symbols in the world today, built up through centuries of use. It has a free-flowing sense of motion, yet misses none of the expected elements associated with Britannia.

There are gold and silver coins in the range, although few are available individually at present. If you want a solitary gold coin, you can have a 1/4 ounce, or a 1/40 ounce version. We’ve made no secret of our disdain for the 8 mm diameter 1/40th (0.8 gram) variant, arguing that this need to be tiny is stupid, when producers like CIT are issuing 0.5 gram coins with a near 14 mm diameter. We want to see the artwork, not take some ridiculous comfort in having the smallest gold coins the Royal Mint has ever issued.

There’s more of a choice when it comes to silver, with 1 oz, 2 oz, and the traditionally gorgeous 5 oz all available individually. There’s also silver variants produced with a frosted finish, rather than the traditional mirror proof. The best way to get this is to buy the two-coin set, that includes a one-ounce version of each silver finish. There’s also a fractional silver set, including the 1/40 micro coin.

Many will prefer to get a set of fractionals, and these are offered in silver and gold. We’ve broken them down in the chart below, so you can see what is included in each set. All coins should be available to purchase direct from the Royal Mint site very shortly. If you plan to buy, please click the banner below, and we’ll get a little bonus at no cost to you. Thanks.

SET 1 oz
 1/2 oz
 1/4 oz
 1/10 oz
 1/20 oz
 1/40 oz
GOLD 6 Y Y Y Y Y Y
GOLD 3 n n Y Y Y n
SILVER 6 Y Y Y Y Y Y
SILVER 4-F Y n Y n Y Y
SILVER 2 (1 x F) x2 n n n n n

GALLERY

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION DIAMETER FINISH MINTAGE (max)
£100 UKP 31.21 g of 0.9999 gold 32.69 mm Proof 250 (TBC)
£50 UKP 15.60 g of 0.9999 gold 27.0 mm Proof 250 (TBC)
£25 UKP 7.80 g of 0.9999 gold 22.0 mm Proof 1,760
£10 UKP 3.13 g of 0.9999 gold 16.5 mm Proof 750 (TBC)
£1 UKP 1.58 g of 0.9999 gold 12.0 mm Proof 750 (TBC)
£0.5 UKP 0.80 g of 0.9999 gold 8.0 mm Proof 2,284
DENOMINATION COMPOSITION DIAMETER FINISH MINTAGE (max)
£10 UKP 156.30 g of 0.999 silver 65.0 mm Proof 556
£5 UKP 62.86 g of 0.999 silver 40.0 mm Proof 1,256
£2 UKP 31.21 g of 0.999 silver 38.61 mm Proof 5,610
£1 UKP 15.71 g of 0.999 silver 27.0 mm Proof 1,250 (TBC)
£0.5 UKP 7.86 g of 0.999 silver 22.0 mm Proof 1,250 (TBC)
£0.2 UKP 3.15 g of 0.999 silver 16.5 mm Proof 1,250 (TBC)
£0.1 UKP 1.58 g of 0.999 silver 12.0 mm Proof 1,250 (TBC)
£0.05 UKP 0.8 g of 0.999 silver 8.0 mm Proof 1,250 (TBC)