Britannia Collection

The Complete Guide to the Silver Britannia

COLLECTIONS SHOP FOR BRITANNIA’S ON EBAY

2026 · SILVER BRITANNIA · ROYAL MINT

he Complete Guide to the Silver Britannia Coin

Britannia coins are British coins issued by the Royal Mint in gold since 1987, in silver since 1997, and in platinum since 2018. The coin patterns feature various depictions of Britannia, a feminine personification of the United Kingdom.

Bullion

Proof

Y2K

1oz Silver Bullion

From 1997 to 2012 the silver coins had a fineness of 0.958 with a weight of 32.45 grams, a fine silver weight of 31.1 grams (1 troy ounce) and a diameter of 40.00 mm. Since 2013 the silver coins have been produced with a fineness of 0.999 (99.9% silver). They have a weight of 31.21 grams, a fine silver weight of 31.1 grams (1 troy ounce) and a diameter of 38.61 mm.

Silver Britannia’s have been released each year beginning in 1997 (with 1997 only available in proof). In 1998 and in all subsequent even-numbered years the reverse design has depicted a standing Britannia figure.

Beginning in 1999 and continuing in odd-numbered years, a series of alternate, non-repeating depictions of Britannia have replaced the standing figure on the reverse. While mintage was limited prior to 2013, in 2013 and after, mintage of the bullion version of the coin is unlimited based on demand. *mintage figures below were provided by a FOI request from the Royal Mint.

Update for 2023 Bullion – The Britannia 2023 bullion coin is available featuring the fifth and final effigy of Queen Elizabeth II with a limited production run. Alongside this, a 2023 coin featuring King Charles III’s first effigy was also released.

1998

88,909 Mintage

1999

69,394 Mintage

2000

81,301 Mintage

2001

44,816 Mintage

2002

36,543 Mintage

2003

73,271 Mintage

2004

57,000 Mintage

2005

57,000 Mintage

2006

50,300 Mintage

2007

94,000 Mintage

2008

100,000 Mintage

2009

100,000 Mintage

2010

129,086 Mintage

2011

269,282 Mintage

2012

351,372 Mintage

2013

584,946 Mintage

2014

623,741 Mintage

2015

2,780,259 Mintage

2016

Unlimited Mintage

2017

Unlimited Mintage

2018

Unlimited Mintage

2019

Unlimited Mintage

2020

Unlimited Mintage

2021

Unlimited Mintage

2022

Unlimited Mintage

2023

Unlimited Mintage

2024

Unlimited Mintage

2025

Unlimited Mintage

2026

Unlimited Mintage

<2023

QEII Obverse

>2023

Charles III Obverse

1oz Silver Lunar Privy

Since 2013, the Royal Mint has struck a special version of it’s 1oz silver coin. Produced for American bullion dealer A-Mark Precious Metals, the coin has struck into its edge a privy mark symbolising the lunar year of issue.

The mintage figures have been released for the 2013-2016 issues but the subsequent mintage figures are unknown.

The rarest of the lunar privy designs is the 2019 Pig. It’s believed that a US pension company bought up the majority of these coins as an investment and very few have made it into the secondary market.

Beyond this, the 2018 Dog privy appears to be the second most elusive, often selling upwards of £50 per coin.

Dis-continued – The Royal Mint have confirmed that the series has now been discontinued – “We did used to put a lunar privy mark on the side of the Britannia Bullion coins and have indeed stopped after 2020 which mean the year of the rat was the last one. There is currently no intention to carry on with this series”

2013

Snake

300,000 Mintage

2014

Horse

1,000,000 Mintage

2015

Ram

200,000 Mintage

2016

Monkey

176,300 Mintage

2017

Rooster

Unknown Mintage

2018

Dog

Unknown Mintage

2019

Pig

Unknown Mintage

2020

Rat

Unknown Mintage

1oz Silver Brilliant Uncirculated

Sometimes referred to as ‘BU’, ‘B.U.’, or ‘BUNC’, Brilliant Uncirculated Britannia coins are of a higher standard than the bullion coins. The dies used to strike Brilliant Uncirculated coins are polished and finished by hand and blanks are machine-fed and struck twice. Britannia coins sold as BU are individually boxed and sold in limited numbers, unlike the bullion which are supplied in tubes with an unlimited maximum mintage.

BU
In 2015 for the first time in history, the Royal Mint released a very special Limited Issue Britannia £50 Fifty Pound Silver Coin struck in solid fine .999 Silver weighing one ounce of fine pure Silver (sold in a sealed pack).

Plain Fields
From 2015 though to 2018, the Brilliant Uncirculated release of the Britannia featured a smooth background as opposed to the textured ‘fields’ of the bullion version. Commonly referred to as smooth or plain fields. Although now rare, they do carry a premium and the 2015 Plain Fields is particularly difficult to find carrying the highest premium.

2013

BU
2,387 Mintage

2014

BU
1,493 Mintage

2015

BU £50 Fifty Pounds
78,569 Mintage

2015

BU (Plain Fields)
2,870 Mintage

2016

BU (Plain Fields)
2,901 Mintage

2017

BU (Plain Fields)
3,997 Mintage

2018

BU (Plain Fields)
2,156 Mintage

2019

BU
1,725 Mintage

2020

2,990 Mintage

2021

BU Premium Exclusive
4,541 Mintage

2022

BU Womanhood Edition
5,000 Limit

Special Editions

1999 ‘Y2K’ Privy – See here for more information
In 1999 to commemorate the new millennium, a special set of coins was released featuring one ounce silver issues from Australia, USA, England, China and Liberia. The coins all featured a Y2K Privy mark and 10,000 of each was issued. This Y2K privy edition was not an official release from the Royal Mint but was commissioned by another company.

2011 Matte
In 2011 it is reported that 2,337 Britannia’s were released with a matte finish due to a production issue at the mint. All 2.337 were purchased by an American company and were graded. Approx. 800 were graded at MS70.

2014 Mule
Some 2014 silver Britannia coins were struck with the incorrect obverse as there was a mix up during the manufacturing process with the ‘Lunar’ Year of the Horse coins from. It is thought that there are around 17,000 examples with the mis-strike, which have been dubbed the ‘Mule Britannia’

2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020 ‘W16’ Privy
Starting in 2015, BTN coins of Germany commissioned a set of 16 world famous silver ounces. Each coin was embossed with a 24k gold ‘W16’ privy mark. There were limited edition sets for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020. The set includes famous 1 oz coins from around the world, including the Britannia.

2016 Golden Silhouette
This five-coin 2006 Golden Silhouettes Collection features the five distinct Britannia designs issued between 1997 and 2005, including the definitive Standing Britannia and four one-year variants. Dated 2006 and struck in .958 silver, each proof coin has selective 24-carat gold plating highlighting Britannia and the Queen’s effigy.

2017 20th Anniversary Chariot (1997-2017 Privy)
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Silver Britannia, this version of the Silver Britannia features a chariot design from the 1997 coin and unique rim with “1997 – 2017” etched on the side. This 1oz silver Britannia coin has a different design than the normal issue Britannia and was issued in much lower numbers.

2017 Trident Privy
In 2017, a second 20th anniversary coin was also issued, displaying a trident ’20’ mint mark. Limited to a mintage of 120,000 coins.

2018 / 2019 / 2020 Oriental Border
This design varies from the usual Britannia with the addition of an ‘Oriental Border’, inspired by the Chinese-themed rooms at Buckingham Palace and the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. The Oriental Border variant ran for 3 years, from 2018 to 2020 and will not be continued. A proof version was only available for the 2018 version.

2023 The Coronation of King Charles III – Made to mark the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, the first crowned coinage portrait of His Majesty The King, with a limited mintage of 200,000.

2024 Britannia and Liberty – Celebrating the symbols of Britannia and Liberty together on a coin, issued in 2025 and 2026 with maximum mintages of 50,000 coins for each year. Also available in proof with a mintage limit of 12,300 coins.

2026 Base Metal Error – Confirmed by the Royal Mint and struck in error on to a £5 base metal crown coin blank (cupronickel), it’s believed that 209 ‘Base Metal 1oz Silver Britannia’ coins are in existence. Approx. weight of 28.2g.

1999

Y2K

10,000 Mintage

2006

Golden Silhouette

3,000 Mintage

2006

Golden Silhouette

3,000 Mintage

2006

Golden Silhouette

3,000 Mintage

2006

Golden Silhouette

3,000 Mintage

2006

Golden Silhouette

3,000 Mintage

2011

Matte

2,337 Mintage

2014

Mule

17,000 Mintage (approx.)

2015

W16

5,000 Mintage

2016

W16

5,000 Mintage

2017

1997-2017

99,000 Limit

2017

Trident

120,000 Mintage

2017

W16

5,000 Mintage

2018

W16

5,000 Mintage

2018

Oriental

100,000 Limit

2018

Oriental Proof

2,500 Limit

2019

Oriental

50,000 Limit

2019

W16

5,000 Mintage

2020

W16

5,000 Mintage

2020

German Unity Privy

5,000 Limit

2020

Oriental

50,000 Limit

2023

Coronation of Charles III

200,000 Limit

2023

Coronation of Charles III

Obverse

2024

Britannia and Liberty

260,500 Limit

2025

Tilawa Privy

Unknown Limit

2026

Hong Kong Privy

Unknown Limit

2026

Singapore Merlion Privy

Unknown Limit

2026

Cherry Blossom Privy

Unknown Limit

2026

Base Metal Error

209 Mintage

1oz Silver Proof

From 2013, the proof versions of the coin feature a different design each year, while the bullion version of the coin will always feature the classic standing Britannia. There were no proof Britannia coins issued in the years 1999, 2000 and 2002.

Pictured below are the 1 oz coins, the same designs were also available as fractional proof coins, including 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz.

Artists – Philip Nathan (1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2012) | Christopher Le Brun (2007) | John Bergdahl (2008) Suzie Zamit (2010, 2016) | David Mach (2011) | Robert Hunt (2013) | Jody Clark (2014) | Anthony Dufort (2015) | Louis Tamlyn (2017) | David Lawrence (2018, 2019) | James Tottle (2020) P. J. Lynch (2021) | Dan Thorne (2022) | Jonathan Olliffe (2023)

Full Artist Breakdown available here – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_(coin)#Coin_Designs

1997

4,173 Individual Mintage
11,832 Set Mintage

1998

2,168 Individual Mintage
3,044 Set Mintage

2001

4,596 Individual Mintage
3,047 Set Mintage

2003

2,016 Individual Mintage
3,669 Set Mintage

2004

2,174 Individual Mintage
0 Set Mintage

2005

1,539 Individual Mintage
2,360 Set Mintage

2006

2,529 Individual Mintage
0 Set Mintage

2007

5,157 Individual Mintage
2,500 Set Mintage

2008

2,500 Individual Mintage
2,500 Set Mintage

2009

4,284 Individual Mintage
2,500 Set Mintage

2010

3,042 Individual Mintage
3,497 Set Mintage

2011

2,490 Individual Mintage
2,483 Set Mintage

2012

2,937 Individual Mintage
2,595 Set Mintage

2013

3,468 Individual Mintage
3,587 Set Mintage

2014

2,981 Individual Mintage
2,285 Set Mintage

2015

4,240 Individual Mintage
1,559 Set Mintage

2016

4,137 Individual Mintage
1,300 Set Mintage

2017

5,225 Individual Mintage
1,351 Set Mintage

2018

3,630 Individual Mintage
937 Set Mintage

2019

2,995 Individual Mintage
999 Set Mintage

2020

4,960 Individual Limit
1,000 Set Limit

2021

2,900 Individual Limit
1,000 Set Limit

2021 (2oz)

Standard Edition
250 Edition Limit

2021 (2oz)

Premium Exclusive
550 Limit

2022

3,500 Individual Limit
3,300 Set limit

2022 (2oz)

Womanhood
550 Limit

2023

3,450 Individual Limit
1,470 Set Limit

2024

3,500 Individual Limit
2,100 Set Limit

2025

4,500 Individual Mintage
1,300 Set Limit

2026

3,000 Individual Mintage
500 Set Limit

1oz Silver Reverse Proof

Starting in 2016, the Royal Mint offered a 2 coin Britannia set featuring a 1oz silver proof edition alongside a 1oz reverse frosted proof edition. The areas that are normally frosted (on both the obverse and the reverse) are mirror-like surfaces on it, and those that are normally mirror-like are frosted. Extremely limited mintage. *Price guidelines are for the 2 coin set.

2016

500 Limit

2017

500 Limit

2018

700 Limit

2019

700 Limit

2020

700 Limit

2021

500 Limit

2022

1,100 Limit

2023

520 Limit

2024

850 Limit (2 Coin Set)
1,000 Limit

2025

500 Limit (2 Coin Set)
450 Limit (Fractional

<2023

QEII Obverse

2023>

Charles III Obverse

Silver Fractional

1/10 oz Bullion
In 2006, the Royal Mint re-issued for the first time the “definitive” Standing Britannia type of tenth-ounce silver coin which was first issued in 1998. Struck in a tenth-ounce of 999 fine silver, this is the smallest silver coin in the Britannia range. 16.50mm diameter, 999 Silver.

1/4 oz S.S Garispoppa
The quarter-ounce silver Britannia from the Royal Mint has been struck from silver brought up from the wreck of the freighter SS Gairsoppa, recovered by the Odyssey Marine Exploration. Made from 0.999 silver and weighing 7.83 grams, the edge detail has the name of the ship struck into it. Mintage (including sets) has been confirmed as 19,248 .

1/2 oz Brilliant Uncirculated (Bullion)
The 1/2 oz silver bullion Britannia was first issued in 2011, featuring a proof-like finish matching the 1 oz version. No further 1/2 oz bullion coins were produced from 2012 through 2024. In 2025, The Royal Mint reintroduced the 1/2 oz silver bullion Britannia. This fractional size continued into 2026 and is now an established part of the regular Britannia bullion range.

Fractional Proofs 1997 – Date
Although not pictured on this website, the proof Britannia’s were also available as factional coins. Sold in a set of 4 coins, alongside the one ounce, they included a half ounce, quarter ounce and tenth ounce. The design of each proof coin was the same as the design listed above in the ‘Proof’ section.

2006

1/10 oz
Unknown Mintage

2011 BU

1/2 oz
50,000 Mintage

2013

S.S Gairsoppa

1/4 oz
20,000 Mintage

2014

S.S Gairsoppa

1/4 oz
19,248 Mintage

2020

1/10 oz
Unknown Mintage

2021

1/4 oz
Unknown Mintage

2021

1/10oz
Unknown Mintage

2023

1/4 oz
Unknown Mintage

2023

1/10 oz
Unknown Mintage

2024

1/10 oz
Unknown Mintage

2024

1/4 oz
Unknown Mintage

2025

1/10 oz
Unknown Mintage

2025

1/4 oz
Unknown Mintage

2025

1/2 oz
Unknown Mintage

2026

1/10 oz
Unknown Mintage

2026

1/4 oz
Unknown Mintage

2026

1/2 oz
Unknown Mintage

Investors and Bars

5oz Proof
First released in 2013, these 5oz coins 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.

10oz Bullion Bar
This substantial minted silver bar contains 10 troy ounces of 999 silver and is the second-largest bar in the Britannia range.

10oz Bullion
The largest coin in the Britannia range, the 2021 Britannia 10 ounce silver coin, contains 311 grams of fine 999 silver.

20oz Anniversary Proof
2017 saw the first silver twenty-ounce coin issued in the United Kingdom; it was released to mark the twentieth anniversary of the silver Britannia range. This issue has the special 20th Anniversary Trident Privy mark located prominently to the right of Britannia.

1kg Proof Trial Piece (2015)
The Royal Mint regularly creates trial pieces to test the dies that enables them to produce coins of the highest quality. Shown below is the 2025 1kg Silver Proof Trial Piece (Visions of Britannia) with a limited edition presentation of 1.

2kg Proof
The 2021 Silver Proof 2kg Britannia is the first 2kg Britannia to be issued by the Royal Mint.

100oz Bullion Bar
This is the largest silver bar available in the Britannia bar range and contains 100 troy ounces of 999 silver.

2013

5oz
4,054 Mintage

2014

5oz
1,348 Mintage

2015

5oz
995 Mintage

2016

5oz
783 Mintage

2017

5oz
656 Mintage

2017

20oz
103 Mintage

2018

5oz
430 Mintage

2018

1kg
236 Mintage

2019

5oz
340 Mintage

2019

1kg
Unknown Mintage

2020

5oz
250 Mintage

2020

1kg
Unknown Mintage

2021

2oz Premium Exclusive
550 Limit

2021

5oz
250 Limit

2021

10oz
Unlimited Mintage

2021

1kg Premium Exclusive
50 Limit

2021

2kg
110 Limit

2022

2oz
750 Limit

2022

2oz
350 Limit

2022

1kg Womanhood
40 Limit

2022

2kg
75 Limit

2023

2oz
1,000 Limit

2023

5oz
420 Limit

2023

1kg
Unknown Limit

2024

5oz Proof
556 Limit

2024

10oz
Unknown Limit

2024

1kg
Unknown Limit

2025

5oz
Unknown Limit

2025

10oz
Unknown Limit

2025

1kg
Unknown Limit

2025

1kg Proof (Trial Piece)
1 Mintage

2026

5oz
Unknown Limit

Bar

100g
Unknown Limit

Bar

10oz
Unknown Limit

Bar

100oz
Unknown Limit

Obverse

2023 >

Y2K Privy Series

Although not a Britannia set, the Y2K series is interesting so I wanted to include some additional information. The series was released back in 1999 to commemorate the new millennium, featuring one ounce silver issues from Australia, Canda, China, England, Liberia and USA. The coins all featured a special Y2K privy mark and only 10,000 of each were issued (with just 2,000 of the Liberia, which isn’t stamped with Y2K but incorporates Y2K as part of its design). It’s believed that the Maple Y2K was limited to 5,000 but this is unconfirmed.

These coins are extremely difficult to source, occasionally appearing on eBay, the pricing varies from £50 through to upwards of £300. The Y2K Panda seems to be the most difficult to source, followed closely by the Britannia.

I have recently seen an original Y2K pack for sale on eBay and included photos below. As Canada was not included in this original pack, I assume that this was added at a later date. This is the only pack that I have ever seen for sale and I hope to have higher quality photos soon.

If you do have any information on this series, please do contact me on contactbritanniauk@gmail.com!

Australia

10,000 Mintage

Canada

5,000 Mintage (?)

China

10,000 Mintage

England

10,000 Mintage

Liberia

2,000 Mintage

United States

10,000 Mintage

Presentation Pack

Sleeve

Presentation Pack

Front

Presentation Pack

Inside

1oz Silver Limited Edition Coloured

The following Britannias were not available directly from the Royal Mint but there are some great designs so I wanted to include those coins that were available on a limited edition basis.