Category: Gold

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When will coins change to King Charles III?

Along with the rest of the UK, we were deeply saddened by the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death on September 8th, aged 96. 

The Queen’s face is one that we all see daily. Her head takes pride of place on our stamps, banknotes, coins and medals. This has been the case since the start of her reign in 1956. 

During Elizabeth II’s reign, the UK transitioned into a decimal currency, and the switch came on Monday, February 15th 1971. Before the switch, it was customary for more than one monarch’s face to be on British coins, but they were all updated with the Queen’s head in time for decimalisation in 1971. 

There are 29 billion coins in circulation in the UK that picture Her Majesty’s head. The Royal Mint will no longer create new coins with her image, but it will take a while for us to start seeing King Charles III’s head on our coins. It could also take many years for the late Queen’s image to completely vanish from circulation. 

The first step will be for The King to work with The Royal Mint to approve a new design for coins and notes. The Chancellor and then the King will approve the final design. As part of a 300-year-old tradition, King Charles will face left on the new coins. Each time there is a new monarch, the direction of their head changes. The late Queen’s father, King George VI, faced left on coins before she took reign. 

Even though many significant changes will happen over the next few weeks and months, we don’t have to worry about invalid coins. Coins with the late Queen’s head on them will remain legal tender, and over time they will eventually be phased out.

However, it would be a good idea to check your coins as some of them could become very valuable in years to come. For example, the second most valuable Queen Elizabeth II coin is the mule gold proof Double Sovereign £2 coin with the wrong obverse. It is 22ct gold and was released in 1994 to celebrate 300 years of the Bank of England; it also has a unique reverse inspired by the original Britannia seal of the UK’s central bank.

Mr Jon White is a coin expert, and in an interview, he explained that this rare find has a current value of £5,000 as there are only 1,000 of them in circulation.

If you are interested in investing in Gold coins, we have a range of Gold sovereign coins on our website. If you’d like to have a chat about how to get started, drop us an email or give us a call, and we’ll be happy to help. 

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A short history of Gold

“The Golden Rule: He who has the gold makes the rules.”

Gold has always been viewed as one of the most precious metals throughout history. 

Gold is the only metal with a distinct golden colour and is also one of the rarest natural minerals.

Did you know that nearly all of the Gold on Earth came from the supernovae and neutron star collisions which resulted in an explosion creating atoms of Gold? Scientists believe that Gold buried itself deep into the Earth’s core during the creation of Earth, and geologists have even found rocks of Gold as old as 4 billion years.

Since Gold was so precious and rare, in around 550 BC, Gold started to be mined and used as a currency in Greece and the Middle East. Gold was used as a currency in many countries before paper money was created. When paper money was introduced, it was called the Gold Standard. The Gold Standard set a fixed price for Gold which determined its value. The paper money was linked directly to the Gold, and countries agreed to convert the paper money into a fixed amount of Gold. 

Still to this day, Gold is one of the world’s most useful and highly valued metals. Even though it is technically a heavy metal, it’s very soft and can be moulded and shaped into jewellery. Gold is also used for Olympic medals and trophies; it can even be used to conduct electricity. 

Today many people, including governments, hold investments in Gold. Buying Gold as an asset can help protect your wealth in the long term and be an excellent addition to your investment portfolio. Gold can never be destroyed and can not be altered or hacked like some investments in the digital world. 

At J Blundells & Sons, we’ve been trading Gold since 1839. We’re a family-run business based in the heart of London’s famous jewellery district, Hatton Garden. If you are interested in buying Gold, we’d love to help you take that first step.