British Gold Coin: A Must Have For Any Coin Collector

Ask any gold coin collector about the most recognizable gold coin in the world and the near unanimous reply would be that a British gold coin is the most famous gold coin in the world. The British gold coin has a distinction of being minted in almost all the major continents in the world. At the peak of British Empire, the coin was minted in Great Britain (Europe), India (Asia), Canada (The Americas), South Africa (Africa) and in Australia.

The British gold coin also has the distinction of being one of the oldest coins which is still being minted today. The British gold coin was first introduced by King Henry VII. Ever since then, the British gold coin has seen the rise and fall of many houses. It saw the rise of British empire. It was at helm when the Union Jack was the flag covering a major portion of the earth and it saw the transition of Britain into a modern constitutional monarchy.

The British gold coin is considered to be the gold coin to have by coin collectors and numismatics experts from around the globe. This is despite the fact that the British gold is one of the few 22 carat gold coins in circulation. Most of the other gold coins, even those which come from other commonwealth realms like Canada and Australia are made of comparatively pure, 24 carat gold.

Another reason for the extreme popularity of the British gold coin is because they are the only gold coins which have been featured in a James Bond movie. To a certain extent this is obvious as James Bond is British spy. The coins were featured in the first ever equipment given to Bond by the Q branch. The coins were hidden in the inner lining of the briefcase. They were even instrumental in saving Bond's life in the same movie.

While all this may be fine it its own place, the main reason which makes the British gold coin a cherished commodity is because the coin was used by the Crown to pay non British people for their services to Her majesty's Government. The practice was one of the major reasons that British gold coin was being increasingly counterfeited. By 1957, Chancellor of the Exchequer and the rest of HM Government had to restart minting the coin.

The British god coin has become a collectors item along with the Britannia Gold bullion coin which was issued in 1988. The British gold coin is a must have for any person to be considered a gold coin collector. You can easily purchase a British gold coin from the Royal Mint while you are in the Kingdom. For those outside, the British gold coin can be purchased from a coin dealer though the price may be a bit higher.