04 December 2012
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Una and the Lion coin
A coin shop firm has reported new levels of interest for rare and valuable historic numismatic coins spurred by interest created by recent commemorative events ...
Purchasers of gold coins commemorating events such as the Diamond Jubilee, London Olympics and the Titanic centenary have turned their attention to historic gold coins, according to the Scoin Shop, the UK’s only gold coin retail chain.
Sales of these historic coins from circa 1840 – 1910 from both Britain and the old South African Republic are up 50 per cent on 2011 according to Scoin Shop sales figures, which has since launched a specialist division to offer customers these rare and valuable coins, not widely available.
The most sought-after coins include the 1902 ‘Veldpond’ (translates to ‘Bush Pound’ gold coin) minted by hand by the Boers in the North Eastern wilderness of South Africa (Pilgrim’s Rest, Mpumalanga) during the final months of the Anglo-Boer war. British Royal Mint coins leading the demand include the ‘Una and the Lion’ – a gold £5 denomination Sovereign designed to commemorate the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign, widely considered one of the most beautiful British coins ever struck.
Scoin Shop founder, international coin dealer and bullion expert, Alan Demby, commented:
'We’ve reached a new direction of consumer interest not seen before, where it appears that sales of gold coins commemorating some of the UK’s most recent major events, such as the Diamond Jubilee and the Royal Wedding, are turning the attention of customers to historic, rare and valuable coins. It’s almost as if these modern day events, which people can closely identify with, are creating interest in historic coins which are predominantly higher in value because of their scarcity.'
During the Diamond Jubilee the Scoin Shop had rights to sell the exclusive ‘Royal Set’, currently retailing at £8,950, comprising three gold coins from the Australian, British and Canadian royal mints.
In the run up to Nelson Mandela’s 94th birthday in mid July, The Scoin Shop saw a record £4million worth of gold and silver medallions bearing the living icon’s image nearly sell out from the UK and South African-based stores.
The Scoin Shop has retail outlets at Westfield London, Westfield Stratford City.
