2018 Silver Britannia 1oz coin

1oz Britannia silver coin

With a face value of £2, the 2018 Silver Britannia features the Elizabeth fifth portrait on the obverse and Philip Nathan’s Britannia design on the reverse. Issued since 1997, they contained 958/1000 parts silver until 2013, when they increased fineness to 999.0 thereafter.

This is a brand-new bullion finish coin, issued without expensive presentation boxes to maximize the amount of silver for your money. Modest orders are packed loose, with tubes for orders of 25 or more and monster boxes in denominations of 500.

2017 marked the 20^th anniversary of the 1oz Silver Britannia coin, a signal of its great success in the investment market. It demonstrates how far the Royal Mint have come in being proactive with their marketing and product development over the years. The Gold Britannia was launched a decade prior to the silver version, in an attempt by the Royal Mint to copy the successful Krugerrand and steal some of its market share.  The Krugerrand had already been flourishing for 20 years when the British coin was launched. But spotting the growing demand for silver, the Mint have managed to produce their 1oz silver coin a full 20 years before the Rand Mint. Perhaps in a reversal of roles, the South Africans launch the first silver Krugerrand this year.

The fact that the Britannia was upgraded from 958 parts silver per 1000 to 999 parts in 2013, demonstrates the Royal Mint’s awareness of Asia’s love of ‘fine’ gold and silver. They recognise the true global potential of the UK coins, especially to a continent who already love precious metals and ‘brand-UK’.

Tax efficiency

As a Royal Mint issued, legal tender coin with a face value, the 2018 Silver Britannia is free from Capital Gains Tax (CGT). With silver being so undervalued, it offers far greater appreciation potential than the gold Britannia. As such, CGT is potentially a far greater issue when buying silver than gold. For this reason, the Britannia may be a wiser choice than foreign silver coins like the Maple Leaf or Philharmonic.

For so long UK buyers had to pay VAT on their silver coins. But now Physical Gold are able to sell our silver coins without charging VAT and deliver them directly to your door. We manage this through careful sourcing of the coins to exploit tax loopholes in the EU. So now you’re able to buy Silver Britannias from us without paying any tax at all.

Variations

Due to their success, the Britannia has now spawned a number of size variations. As well as the standard issue 1oz coin, the Silver Britannia is issued in Half ounce weight, quarter ounce, and tenth ounce. More recently the extremes have been pushed with a huge five ounce and small twentieth ounce versions. Each fractional Britannia has a corresponding face value ranging from 10p up to £10. We’d steer clear of the smaller versions as they prove expensive due to their diminutive size.

The 20^th anniversary year edition is also available in limited issue which may appeal more to the collector of rarer silver coins than the investor due to its premium.

Like its gold cousin, the silver coin updates its image of Britannia on the reverse of the coin often. Designs tend to range from a standing figure, to a close up with helmet, seated, riding a chariot and posing with a lion.

Our expert opinion

If you’re just getting started in silver investment or looking to add to an existing portfolio, the 2018 Silver Britannia is the number one option. It ticks every box for silver investing. Now we’re able to deliver these wonderful coins without VAT, they offer a tax efficient method of owning physical silver.

With each coin only weighing an ounce, buying silver Britannias provides the investor with great divisibility and flexibility. With the coin now in its 20^th year of production, there’s a growing second-hand market for the coins, crucial to increase sell back levels.

Premiums are lower than some less common silver coins, meaning more silver for your money. We’d recommend the standard silver bullion Britannia featured here rather than the Silver Britannia limited edition 20^th anniversary version which is more expensive.

One of the biggest challenges when owning silver can be storage. £5,000 will buy you a lot of coins! The Royal Mint issue the Silver Britannia in convenient tubes of 25, and superb stackable monster boxes which holds 20 tubes (500 coins in total).