Royal Mint Coins Celebrate Royal Birth

The Royal British Mint captured a great deal of worldwide media attention when they announced that babies born in the UK on the same day as Prince William and Kate’s baby would receive a free silver penny. The Royal Birth on July 22, 2013 was followed by the unveiling of a range of numismatic products to celebrate the occasion.

Royal Birth 5 Pound Silver Coin

The coin which seems to have garnered the most attention is the £5 silver coin featuring Benedetto Pistrucci’s classic design of St. George Slaying the Dragon. This design has traditionally been used for gold sovereigns, and this release marks the first time that the design has appeared on a silver coin in more than 100 years. The .925 fine silver coins are struck in proof quality with a weight of 28.28g and diameter of 38.61mm. The issue limit is 10,000 pieces, of which the Royal Mint indicates over 50% has already been sold.

Update: As of July 26, the Royal Mint has indicated that 80% of production has been sold.

Silver One Pound Coin

A £1 silver coin is also offered to celebrate the Royal Birth. This coin features the reverse design by Matthew Dent, featuring the heraldic shield of the Royal Arms, struck in .925 silver to brilliant uncirculated standard. The same coin does seem to be available under different packaging. The coin issued to celebrate the Royal Birth comes in “baby edition packaging” and is limited to an issuance of 10,000.

Royal Birth Gold Sovereign

The Royal Mint has also offered a limited run of gold sovereigns, which were minted on the day of the Royal Birth. The 22 karat gold bullion quality coins have a weight of 7.98g and diameter of 22.05 mm. The coins are shown in special packaging which indicates the special striking. According to the Royal Mint website, the full limited run of 2,013 coins has sold out.

Definitive Edition UK Set

Lastly, the Royal Birth 2013 UK Definitive Set is offered, which includes all eight of the definitive circulating UK coins from 2013 within a specially commissioned set. This is indicated as the first UK coin set to be issued to commemorate a royal birth.

These products can be found on the Royal Mint website in the Christening and Baby section, which includes the Royal Birth range in addition to other baby-themed products.

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Comments

  1. Frankie says

    Thanks for the article, Michael.
    The silver St. George and Dragon coin now shows as 80% sold and will probably sell out over the weekend.
    The biggest problem I have with Royal Mint offerings is their huge premium, esp. in comparison to other world mints (e.g. US Mint, RCM, Perth Mint). This leaves little chance of appreciation in the long run, although mintages are typically low. The “silver Sovereign”, so to speak, may do well though. But who knows…

  2. Samuel says

    just placed the order. i believe most of the orders are from other dealers. the “state” is not an mandatory field in the checkout process. when you check your order status, sometimes, you see the state name, sometimes see the US, and sometimes, they lost your last name. receipt/confirmation email/status show address differently.

  3. Wes says

    I purchased only one Silver Crown and plan on keeping it, Resell value is not that important to me. I just like the design but never wanted to spend the money on a gold Sovereign. It is gaining attention by the press for the baby being named George. Lady Spencer inspired Pistrucci’s to create the St George design. So in away it’s also is a tribute to the Spencer’s. Diana’s side of the family. The sword design is Pistrucci’s St George so it has been on the Silver sovereign before and is the current Sovereign design. A spear has been shown in the hand on other depictions of St. George slaying the Dragon. It looks like the spear is in the dragon on this design. I am not a historian in Royal history so this is all new to me.

  4. Wes says

    True I posted a comment a while ago when they minted a certain amount of Gold Sovereigns on another day possibly for the Diamond Jubilee. At the time I commented that I would buy a Silver one if they made one. Someone else commented good luck with that it has been over 100 years since they last minted one. Well here it is. So there.:)

  5. Schalk says

    According to legend, St George speared the Dragon and the spear broke into a thousand pieces without killing the dragon, he then hided under a tree that gave him immunity to the venom of the dragon to recuperate from fighting. He revived and attacked the dragon again, this time killing it with his sword – and that is the Pistrucci design.

  6. VaBeachSteve says

    I believe the Silver Crowns will appreciate. I put my order in for 5 and may even send a couple of them to a TPG. I’m actually surprised no one is trying to sell them on EBay yet.

  7. Schalk says

    I would like to correct my post of St. George:

    According to legend, St. George speared the dragon and the spear broke into a thousand pieces without penetrating the scales of the dragon. He then hid under an orange tree that gave him immunity to the venom of the dragon to recuperate from injuries sustained from his initial battle with the dragon. Once he revived, he attacked the dragon again, this time killing it with his sword – and that is the Pistrucci design.

    Although I have some of the Sovereigns with the same design, there is just something about the design minted on silver! The striking image surrounded by clean fields produced a fantastic clean, but powerful image! Add to that the fact that the coin has not been struck for a century – makes it a classic, whether it was commissioned for a baby birth or not.

    I say it again: this is a stunning coin!

  8. Louis says

    Samuel,
    I noticed what you said on the address and name, but if you go to “edit your personal details,” you should see everything is there. Some sites just abbreviate some of that stuff, though it is annoying.

  9. Samuel says

    Louis,
    the way they show my previous britania order and this order is also different.

  10. Schalk says

    Samuel

    You should not be worried. The Royal Mint is responsible for carrying out your order. My RM contact ensures me that my order will be ok. The address is properly recorded despite what you see on the website. If you really are that concerned, call them on the USA toll free number to correct it.

  11. Louis says

    I agree. I have not changed anything since last year when my order arrived safe and sound.

  12. im just a bill says

    i’ve had some crowne royal and some royal crown cola (RC) to celebrate the royalness of our existance in coin form.

    cheers
    coin brethren

    *update 5oz h’r/r britannia still in process

  13. Wes says

    The royal birth St. George silver Crown coin may have sold out. The web site isn’t showing the add to basket button.

  14. Mickey Mcflaggert says

    Beauty of a coin, but, only for serious collectors. So it’s 28.28 grams of “sterling” or is that the total weight of silver in the coin?

  15. Anil says

    I have been following this blog for a long time bought some of the most beautiful coins. I would appreciate if Michael or anyone comment on Somalian elephant silver coins. Are they really coins or rounds? Appreciate any input. I love these if I may say coins.

  16. Samuel says

    i dont know it is coin or round. but i own many of them. i thing i can comment is that, late last yr, one big dealer suddenly dumped many 69, 70 ones with very cheap price, and all the somalian ones were gone, for several months, then suddenly, early this yr, the loaded up a lot 2013 ones. these coins design is good, but quality is bad, very easy to get milky spots, even 70 ones.

  17. Brent says

    I snuck in under the wire on Friday and ordered the silver St.George before it sold out. I like the design, and from what others have said concerning it I’m glad I did. Thanks for the info Michael and everyone on this blog. By the way, my card was charged today for the 2013 Britannia silver proof. I am looking forward to this revamping of the Britannia series, even with the Queen’s big head.

  18. VaBeachSteve says

    @ Brent …. Congrats on locking one in at the last second I had a feeling they would sell out this weekend. I’ve already seen 2 of the Gold & Silvers listed on the Bay (per-sale of course). I’ve also had my card charged for 2 of the 2013 proof Britannia & the 5 oz …. But online it still show “Held”

  19. Erik H says

    I tried to order this coin a few days ago. But when checking out the page kept displaying an internal error. After several times I figured it was a sign, so I didn’t buy it.

    I bought the 1951 George VI, 5 Shillings for $15 at coins shop a few months back, I guess that will have to do for a while.

  20. fmtransmitter says

    @samuel: I got an email from Royal Mint about our 1 oz proof saying that my card didn’t go through. I checked my balance and I have plenty of cash on my debit to pay for this coin. I emailed them and have yet to get a response. Did you card egt hit yet for the 1 OZ Brit?

  21. fmtransmitter says

    @Brent: I got an email saying my card didn’t go through. I have plenty on there. Hmm…

  22. fmtransmitter says

    I just tried to cancel my first order and re-order and the cancel box says to call them, it doesn’t allow you to cancel unless you call. I have called several times and get a voice mail everytime. NO ONE ever answers that phone. This is my first time to order from Royal Mint, getting the jitters and flash backs of poor customer service AGAIN.

  23. Schalk says

    fmtransmitter

    Better to try and call them in the morning. Surely you don”t expect these people to work around the clock. When you called it was 01:50am in Great Britain.

  24. Samuel says

    FM, my card shows the charge for britannia. i ordered 2, $237.97+$7.13 fee.
    i noticed, after u place the order, actually, they did the authorization immediately.
    if it went through at that time, there is no reason to get rejected this time.

  25. VaBeachSteve says

    @Fmtrans ….. You need to contact your bank regarding the “decline.” Regardless of how much you have in your acct., the bank will decline it because it is an International purchase and because its a debit card. I would also advise using a standard Visa card and not a debit Visa.

  26. Wes says

    I have had that problem before with an order for the royal mint.. For some reason that was not a problem with the Perth Mint or Royal Canadian mint. The Royal Mint told me my bank wouldn’t authorize the purchase and sent me a form asking me for an alternative form of payment. I just cancelled that order. When I ordered this time a box showed up asking me to sign up for Visa verification authorization. I did and they said it has been accepted. No charge yet as the coin won’t be shipped until August 23rd but I will be watching for the charge.

  27. fmtransmitter says

    Hmmm, ok…I have a VISA credit card just didn’t want to use that as I have a pending (we all know) order with the US Mint. Thanks for the help all!

  28. VABEACHBUM says

    I’ve heard previous stories of how some retailers may not accept debit cards without prior approval, and other instances where the Bank behind the debit card (nothing to do w/ Visa) wouldn’t process the foreign currency transaction. I hope you can get it resolved quickly. No indications of sell-out or wait-listing, so you should be OK.

    Just finished checking my orders at the RM. My MC was charged on 7/25 for one PR Britannia. It appears they split the order, though, as they did not charge for my UNC Britannia – with the indeterminant mintage. Similarly, no indication of shipping the one coin that has been paid. I do recall that I had to run my MC through that same registration and “Verify” sequence during my first check out. Used the same card for my St George coin 3 weeks later and the Verify step was skipped.

  29. Schalk says

    Guys

    Nobody that ordered from the RM should lose their orders. Please call them in the morning early, that is the best time to reach them. After you have spoken to them, you will be glad. I have called them over the past 8 years and I have never been disappointed.

  30. Wes says

    Samuel I used a Visa debit card both times. This time it asked me to sign up for Verified with Visa during the checkout purchase. I did and status shows in process. I don’t think it should make any difference if it is debit or credit as long as it’s a Visa card the Royal mint shows that they accept both.

  31. fmtransmitter says

    They emailed me this morning, still no answer on the phone and said they confirm my cancel for the one order and will try my card again for the second order. I don’t see why it shouldn’t go through. a VISA is VISA debit or credit and the USD is $117.99…

  32. fmtransmitter says

    @samuel: I guess I am at the back of the line now. I just removed the block from my card and notified the RM. They canceled my first order back on July 10. So now I have a new order placed on July 30. They said they will inform me when it goes through. Sounded like they needed to make more. lol not sure but thanks again for all the help. Yours should be on the way so keep me posted as to the quality of this new historic coin.

  33. Samuel says

    FM, dont worry about the britannia coin, it wont be sold out anytime soon, history told us that.

  34. Samuel says

    and, at least 2 or 3 US dealers will have the britannia coins, at a cheaper price than Royalmint, unless u want to buy directly from the mint.

  35. fmtransmitter says

    Why you tell me that now?? lol I just got email from them and they said it won’t ship until on or after Aug. 19. Should I cancel? What would you do samuel? How can a dealer sell it for less than the Mint they purchased it from?

  36. fmtransmitter says

    I understand about the the “history” telling us BUT this is .999 pure AND a whole new design. I suspect renewed interest in this product line. The baby coin sold out quick…

  37. fmtransmitter says

    I’m gonna stick to the Mint order. I don’t want it “picked” through or pre judged by a dealer whether to have it graded or not.I will decide that for myself. Yes it is a premium but MAY be a winner down the road years from as a first. Seems they are working hard to pick up the pace with Perth and others…

  38. fmtransmitter says

    I had to submit my name and email for future availability of this coin. Maybe they will mint more. Hope so as I would like to add this to collection as well. I will also look for dealers here state side.

  39. Louis says

    A couple suggestions: It is always better to use a credit card than a debit card online because it is safer and not connected directly to your bank acct. Second, virtually any int’l. transaction gets American banks all hot and bothered. They invariably want you to approve it as part of fraud prevention. Finally, I would not bank on getting the more desirable RM coins cheaper later from a dealer. That happens sometime, but I do not think it will happen with their the royal baby coin or the Britannia proof coins. For the regular BU bullion yes in part because RM adds packaging. Those I would get from a bullion dealer.

  40. samuel says

    actually this time, the free shipping code and exchange rate from 1.6 to 1.5 help a lot.

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