Pendant and Ring

Summary: If you were looking to invest in coins but didn’t know where to start, start with coins from the Royal Mint, and start now.

The Royal Mint is located in Llantrisant, England today but the story of the Royal Mint extends further into history. Iron age coins were poured, then struck in numerous small workshops adjacent to the ruling class structures of the Iron Age. When the Romans conquered England in the 300s BCE they set up an official mint in the previously existing City of London. After the Romans left, the City of London minted coins of their own.

Centuries later, William the Conqueror arrived and made a new mint for the lands he claimed. Those lands surrounded the City of London but did not include it. 200 years after William built the Tower of London ( just outside of the sovereign City of London) the mint was moved inside the Tower.

The Royal Mint remained in a small area of the Tower from about 1279 to 1969 when it was moved to a larger location for the minting of the Empire’s coinage. The Royal Mint remains in Llantrisant and is currently open to the public for tours.

Right now, the coins of the Royal Mint are experiencing an increase in collectible value. Although defining exactly why coin values rise and fall is beyond the scope of this post, we do have three easy-to-explain causes.

1.) General financial optimism. As the Covid vaccines reach more people around the world, economists are forecasting an increase in spending. More spending, and indeed more borrowing, generally causes a rise in the value of collectibles including art, coins, and most forms of bullion.

2.) Time of year. It’s Spring in the Northern hemisphere. Historically, spending increases during late spring. Tax returns and stimulus checks have added to the increase in spending this year.

3.) The untimely death of HRH, The Prince, Philip. Upon the death of Royal Family members, any coins that feature the visage of the departed are collected with greater zeal. Prince Philip’s death is no exception. Coins from the UK, the British Isles, and Canada are being collected at a greater rate than they were this time last year. As specimens are removed from circulation, scarcity drives up prices.

The moral of the story: if you were looking to invest in coins but didn’t know where to start, start with coins from the Royal Mint, and start now.

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