Gold Britannia: specifications, value and where to buy

The Britannia was launched in 1987 as Britain's answer to the Krugerrand, and 2027 marks its 40th anniversary. It has changed more than most bullion coins: it started as a 22 carat coin, became pure 999.9 gold in 2013, and gained four laser-made security features in 2021. For UK buyers its biggest selling point is tax. Below are the official specifications, the live gold value, real dealer prices and how the coin is treated in four countries.

What are the gold Britannia's specifications?

Source: The Royal Mint's Britannia 2027 1oz gold bullion coin page. The mint does not state a total weight; at 999.9 fineness it is effectively the same as the fine gold weight.

The Royal Mint says the precious metal content of its coins is assured through the Trial of the Pyx, a centuries-old independent test of coins taken from production. The 2027 coin also carries a "40" wave privy mark (a small extra symbol) and a background texture marking the anniversary.

What sizes does the gold Britannia come in?

Face values of the 1 oz coin from The Royal Mint; fractional face values and sizes from dealer and reference listings. Larger 5 oz Britannias and tiny 1/40 oz coins have also been issued.

What is a gold Britannia worth today?

A coin's melt value is what its gold is worth at the live spot price, the wholesale market price for gold. Because the 1 oz Britannia holds exactly one ounce, its melt value equals the spot price per ounce.

Spot-based melt values, not dealer prices. Last updated: Loading. Work out other amounts with the coin melt value calculator.

How much do UK dealers charge for a 1oz Britannia?

The premium is the amount a dealer charges above the coin's gold value. On Saturday 10 October 2026, with the gold market closed and spot at £3,171.03 an ounce, our automated check read the single-coin price for a 1oz gold Britannia at four UK sellers.

Premium = price / (1 oz x spot) - 1. Spot from gold-api.com (XAU/GBP). BullionByPost's product pages blocked our automated check, so we do not publish a premium for it. More dates: premium tracker.

The gap between the cheapest and dearest option was £137.21 for the same ounce of gold and the same tax treatment. The difference is mostly about the year and condition: "best value" coins are earlier or mixed years chosen by the dealer, while The Royal Mint sold only the new 2027 anniversary coin. Note that the Chards product can include older 22 carat coins.

What will a dealer pay you back?

On the same day, Hatton Garden Metals offered £3,067.15 to buy back a 1oz Britannia, 3.28% below spot. Buying from it at £3,281.19 and selling straight back would have cost £214.04, or about 6.5% of the purchase price. That round-trip cost (the dealer spread) is why gold usually needs to rise a few percent before a sale shows a profit. Compare the coin with bars in gold coins vs gold bars.

See Britannia prices at Chards

How is the gold Britannia taxed in the UK, US, Canada and Australia?

United Kingdom. HMRC's Capital Gains Manual says that Sovereigns minted in 1837 and later, and Britannia gold coins, are currency, and "like all sterling currency, are exempt". That means a gain on a Britannia does not count towards Capital Gains Tax, however large. This applies to old 22 carat Britannias as well as new ones. The coins are also VAT free under HMRC's investment gold coin rules. Read the full picture in our UK gold tax rules (CGT-free coins).

United States. There is no special treatment for a British coin. Gains on physical gold are taxed at the collectibles rate. For an IRA, 26 US Code 408(m) allows bullion of at least futures-delivery fineness (99.5% for gold) held by the IRA trustee. A 999.9 Britannia passes that purity test, but it is not one of the named US coins, so check that your custodian will hold it.

Canada and Australia. Both countries remove sales tax from gold of at least 99.5% purity, so a modern Britannia is GST/HST exempt in Canada and GST-free in Australia. A pre-2013 22 carat Britannia is only 91.67% gold and would normally attract sales tax there. Local buyers usually find the Maple Leaf or Kangaroo easier to get.

What about pre-2013 22 carat Britannias?

From 1987 to 2012 the gold Britannia was a 22 carat coin, 916.7 parts gold. It still held one troy ounce of gold, but the alloy made it heavier, at about 34.05 g. The added metal was copper in the first years and silver from around 1990, which is why older Britannias can look either reddish or pale yellow. In 2013 the Royal Mint switched to 999.9 gold.

Pre-2013 weights and alloys from Hatton Garden Metals' guide and dealer listings; the Royal Mint pages we checked do not state them. Reference sources note the 2013 1 oz coin was struck at a larger, thinner size for that year only.

For UK buyers, older 22 carat coins can be a slightly cheaper route to a CGT-free ounce, since they often appear in "best value" or "dealer's choice" listings. The harder alloy also makes them less prone to scratches than pure gold coins.

How do you spot a fake gold Britannia?

Britannias from 2021 onward are among the harder bullion coins to copy. The Royal Mint lists four visual security features:

• Latent image: a small area that switches between a padlock and a trident as you tilt the coin.
• Surface animation: laser-made texture that makes waves appear to move behind Britannia when the coin turns.
• Micro-text: the inscription DECUS ET TUTAMEN ("an ornament and a safeguard") in tiny laser-cut letters surrounding Britannia.
• Tincture lines: a revived traditional technique that uses fine lines to show colours and patterns on metal.

For any year, including older coins without these features:

• Weigh it: 31.10 g for a 999.9 coin, about 34.05 g for a 22 carat one.
• Measure it: 32.69 mm for modern 1 oz coins. Fakes filled with tungsten can match weight but rarely size.
• Check the detail: lettering, the trident and the folds of Britannia's robe should be crisp, not soft or blurred.
• Get it tested: dealers can run XRF (an X-ray scan of the surface metal) or ultrasonic checks without damaging the coin.

More methods in how to tell if gold is real.

Where can you buy gold Britannias?

In the UK you can buy direct from The Royal Mint, which sells the current-year coin, or from dealers such as Chards, Hatton Garden Metals, Atkinsons Bullion and BullionByPost, which also sell older years. US dealers such as APMEX stock Britannias too, though without the UK tax advantage most US buyers pick the American Gold Eagle. To decide between the two British coins, see Sovereign vs Britannia.

Pros and cons of the gold Britannia

For other first-time options, see our best gold coins for beginners or browse all gold coin guides.

Not financial advice. GoldVetted provides general information to help you compare options. It is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Gold prices go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay. Check tax rules with the official source or a qualified adviser before you act.