The Royal Mint Unveils
Glorious Britannia for 2009

The Royal Mint is delighted to introduce the 2009 Britannia collection, featuring Philip Nathan’s famous 1997 design of Britannia standing tall in her chariot. His stunning design appears on the reverse, while the current portrait of Her Majesty the Queen takes pride of place on the obverse – the first time that the two designs have appeared alongside each other on a gold coin.

The 2009 collection is the eighth in a series of Britannia commemorative coins to be released since their inception by the Royal Mint in 1987. Unusually for UK gold coins, the Britannia Collection is struck to 22 carat gold Proof quality, but with a small quantity of silver added to the alloy, resulting in a brilliant yellow gold finish.

Britannia has seen a wide range of interpretations and this offering from Philip Nathan draws its inspiration from Boudicca, the famous warrior queen who led the heroic and daring revolt against the Romans.

Dave Knight, Director of Commemorative Coin at the Royal Mint said:

“Bringing together Philip Nathan’s powerful design with the current portrait of the Queen for the first time on the gold Britannia family makes these coins especially desirable.

“His design was chosen for the special 10th anniversary of the gold Britannia collection in 1997 and it is a real pleasure to see it return this year.”

The 2009 Britannia Collection comprises:

- The four-coin set: £100, £50, £25 and £10 gold Proof coin, with a product issue limit of 1,250 and priced at £2,050. The set comes beautifully presented in a luxury walnut-veneer display case and is accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity. Purchasing this set is the only way to own the £100 and £50 2009 Britannia gold Proof coins.

- The £25 and £10 coins can be purchased individually priced at £285 and £137.50 respectively. The latter is restricted to a product issue limit of just 750, the lowest ever issue limit since its introduction in 1987. The £25 version has a product issue limit of 1,000. Both are accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.



For further details or to purchase your 2009 Britannia Coin, visit the Royal Mint website at www.royalmint.com, write to: The Royal Mint, FREEPOST, NAT23496, PO Box 500,Llantrisant, Pontyclun, CF72 8YT, or call the Royal Mint Customer Services Team on:

- 0845 60 88 222 (Customers in the UK and Ireland)

- International FREEPHONE 01-866-519-7298 (USA)

- International FREEPHONE 1-866-924-0861 (Canada)



Britannia Gold Proof Coin specifications are as follows:

Specifications
£100
£50
£25
£10

Alloy
22 Carat Gold (0.9167 AU)

Min Fine Gold Content
1oz
1/2oz
1/4oz
1/10oz

Production Standard
Proof

Diameter
32.69mm
27.00mm
22.00mm
16.50mm

Weight
34.05g
17.02g
8.51g
3.41g

Max Coin Mintage
1,250
1,250
2,250
2,000

Year Date
2009

Obverse Designer
Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS

Reverse Designer
Philip Nathan



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For media enquiries, please contact the Royal Mint Press Office on 020 7255 5478 or email natalie.andrews@uk.grayling.com

Notes to Editors

1. The Royal Mint has a history dating back over 1000 years. By the late thirteenth century the organisation was based in the Tower of London, and remained there for over 500 years. By 1812, the Royal Mint had moved out of the Tower to premises on London’s Tower Hill. In 1967 the building of a new Royal Mint began on its current site in Llantrisant, South Wales.

2. There were estimated to be 28.2 billion United Kingdom coins in circulation at 31 March 2009, with a total face value of £3.6 billion – all manufactured by the Royal Mint.

3. 1.3 billion United Kingdom coins were issued during 2008-09.

4. Of the higher denomination coins, it is the 20p piece that is most in demand – with more than 2.4 billion now in circulation.




For further details please contact the Royal Mint Press Office on 020 7255 5478