Like many other mints, the Royal Mint issues bullion coins in precious metals, having much higher intrinsic value than their face value. The five ounces (5 oz) gold coins are denominated as either ten pounds (£10) or five hundred pounds (£500).
The coins are legal tender but are not intended for circulation. They are targeted at bullion investors or collectors who appreciate the special editions as pieces of art. The coins are typically "one-year" types usually issued in parallel with smaller denominations with the same reverse designs.
This design is the third release in a Royal Mint series dedicated to the history of British monarchy and the monarchs of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, and features George I of England, who was also Prince-Elector of Hanover as Georg Ludwig. The reverse is based on a coinage portrait used during his reign.
The Royal Mint says about it: The British Monarchs Collection continues its exciting exploration of numismatic and royal history with its third coin. Dedicated to George I, the first British monarch of the long-reigning Hanoverian dynasty, it features a faithful recreation of an original coinage portrait of the king. Resulting in Jacobite uprisings and political unease, George I’s arrival in Britain signalled the end of the Stuart dynasty. At the dawn of the new Hanoverian era, the coins of George I’s reign were those of a nation struggling to adjust to their new European king and a country on the cusp of long-lasting change for both its monarchy and parliament. |