The Royal Mint review: is it a good place to buy gold?

Most dealers sell coins made by someone else. The Royal Mint is different: it strikes the Britannias and Sovereigns that every UK bullion dealer sells. That raises an obvious question for buyers. Is there any reason to pay more for a coin bought from the maker?

See Royal Mint bullion prices

Who owns The Royal Mint?

The Royal Mint Limited is owned by the UK government. Its Companies House record shows one person with significant control: the Solicitor for the Affairs of His Majesty's Treasury, holding 75% or more of the shares as nominee for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who holds the title Master of the Mint. Its registered office is in Llantrisant, South Wales.

Its core job is still making the UK's circulating coins. Bullion is one of several businesses alongside collector coins, a visitor attraction and precious metals services. For a buyer, the practical meaning is simple: there is no risk of fake coins and very little risk of the seller disappearing. What government ownership does not mean is regulatory protection. The Royal Mint states on every page that physical bullion is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, so the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) do not apply.

How The Royal Mint scores on our checks

We use the same published criteria for every dealer, with no star ratings or testimonials. See how we review gold dealers.

How much does The Royal Mint charge?

All bullion sells at the spot price (the market price of the gold inside) plus a premium. The Royal Mint notes that any discounts it runs come off the premium only, never the metal price. Our automated check compared single-coin prices on the evening of 10 October 2026.

GoldVetted price check, 10 October 2026, 21:13 to 21:15 BST, market closed. Spot from gold-api.com. Premium = price ÷ value of fine gold at spot − 1; a Sovereign holds 7.3224g (0.23542 troy oz) of fine gold. See the premium tracker for later checks.

The fairest like-for-like test is the 2027 Sovereign, which both Chards and The Royal Mint sold: £29.83 more direct from the maker for an identical coin. On the Britannia the gap was £137.21 per coin, although the dealers' cheapest coins were older years rather than the new 2027 issue. Coin details are in our Britannia and Sovereign guides.

Is there a card surcharge or VAT?

The Royal Mint accepts Visa and Mastercard debit cards and selected credit cards, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay, up to £50,000 per payment. It does not state a card surcharge, and unlike US dealers it does not show a separate, cheaper bank transfer price. You can also pre-fund an account wallet by bank transfer, but wallet funds must be used within 30 days. Prepaid cards are not accepted.

Investment gold, including Britannias and Sovereigns, is exempt from VAT under HMRC Notice 701/21A. VAT does apply to its storage fees, which is easy to miss.

Delivery and collection

The Royal Mint's fees page says all UK orders get free delivery by Royal Mail Tracked 48, arriving 2 to 3 days after dispatch, including Northern Ireland and the Highlands and Islands. International orders go by DHL Express from £14, with delivery in 2 to 5 working days after dispatch. Its help pages also cover collecting orders.

Storing gold in The Vault and buying DigiGold

The Royal Mint runs its own storage facility, The Vault®. Fees are charged quarterly in arrears on the average daily value of what you hold, with no minimum charge:

Cost examples are our own arithmetic at 20% VAT, assuming a constant £10,000 value. Late storage payments can attract 0.5% of the overdue balance per month.

A single 1oz Britannia stored for a year at 2% plus VAT costs about £82 at October 2026 prices, which wipes out much of any saving from buying direct. Specialist vault services often charge far less; compare them in our UK gold storage guide and our BullionVault review.

DigiGold lets you buy gold by value, from £25, with each purchase backed by a share of a physical bar in The Vault. You cannot have DigiGold delivered. The Royal Mint describes it as an unregulated product: it is not an FCA-regulated investment, and the Ombudsman and FSCS do not cover it. Because it is not a coin, it does not share the Capital Gains Tax exemption of Britannias and Sovereigns. The FCA explains what unregulated means on its unregulated products page.

The Royal Mint also runs Gold for Pensions, which lets certain SIPP and SSAS pension schemes hold its gold bars or DigiGold through a pension provider. Pensions have their own rules and providers; we explain the options neutrally in our guide to gold in a SIPP or ISA. None of this is a recommendation.

Selling gold back to The Royal Mint

There are two routes. If your metal is in The Vault, you request a quote in your account and pay a 2% fee on gold coins and bars (1% on DigiGold). Or you can take delivery instead.

If you hold bullion at home, including coins and bars bought elsewhere, you fill in a quote form online. The Royal Mint aims to reply within 24 hours, tells you where to send the items, checks their purity, and pays funds into your account within two working days of approval; it says the whole process can take as little as five working days from arrival. It only buys gold coins and bars of 22 carat and above, and does not quote for jewellery, cutlery or medals. It currently warns that replies may be slower than usual because of high demand.

Always get a second quote; our guide to selling gold in the UK lists the main buyers. Sovereigns and Britannias are free of Capital Gains Tax for UK residents under HMRC CG78305; see our UK gold tax guide for bars.

What do customers say about The Royal Mint?

We do not quote testimonials or invent ratings. This is the score shown when we checked on 11 October 2026:

Reviews cover the whole business, including collector coins and gifts, not only bullion. Trustpilot's own summary says reviewers like the easy ordering and presentation, while customer service drew widespread complaints about delays. One recent review we read mentioned a coin not arriving until weeks after ordering.

Who The Royal Mint suits, and who should look elsewhere

Good fit: buyers who value buying from the maker over price, people buying a first coin or a gift, and anyone who wants buying, storage and selling in one account.

Look elsewhere if: you want the lowest premium on Britannias or Sovereigns, or you plan to store gold long term at low cost. The same coins, with the same tax treatment, were cheaper at every specialist dealer in our check.

Alternatives to The Royal Mint

• Chards review: the cheapest 1oz Britannia in our check. See Royal Mint vs Chards.
• Atkinsons Bullion review: London dealer with a CGT-free best value coin. See Royal Mint vs Atkinsons.
• BullionVault review: vaulted gold you buy online. See BullionVault vs Royal Mint.
• BullionByPost vs Royal Mint: one of the UK's largest online dealers.
• Best places to buy gold in the UK: every UK dealer we cover.

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.