The Royal Mint introduced the Gold Britannia in 1987, over a century after the last circulating gold Sovereign, giving the UK a dedicated modern bullion coin alongside its older numismatic gold coinage. Like the Sovereign before it, the Britannia launched at 22-karat (91.67% gold) for durability — but in 2013 the Royal Mint reversed that choice and raised the coin's purity to 0.9999 fine (24-karat), matching the purity standard already set by the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf and other 24-karat competitors. The coin's design features Britannia, the female personification of Britain, in a design that has been updated periodically while the core allegorical figure has remained constant since launch.
The 2013 purity change is the single most important fact for a new buyer to understand before comparing prices: a pre-2013 Britannia and a 2013-or-later Britannia are not interchangeably priced per coin despite sharing a name and face value, because the pre-2013 coin contains less actual gold per coin at the same total weight. Confirm which era a listed coin is from before comparing its price to a modern Sovereign or Krugerrand of similar weight, since the alloy difference changes what you're actually paying for per gram of gold.
The dates serious Gold Britannia collectors specifically chase — the rest of the run trades close to melt value.
First year of issue, struck at 22-karat like the older Sovereign — a deliberate durability choice the Royal Mint would later reverse.
The Royal Mint raised the coin's purity from 22-karat to 0.9999 fine (24-karat), matching the purity standard set by competing 24-karat coins from the U.S. and Canadian mints — every Gold Britannia from 2013 onward is meaningfully purer than one from 2012 or earlier.
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Start tracking freeNo — coins from 1987 through 2012 are 22-karat (91.67% gold), while coins from 2013 onward are 0.9999 fine (24-karat). Confirm which era you're looking at before comparing gold content per coin.
To match the purity standard already set by 24-karat competitors like the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf — the earlier 22-karat alloy had been a deliberate durability choice, the same one the older Sovereign uses.
Four: 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, and 1/10 oz, each with its own face value (£100, £50, £25, and £10 respectively).