Royal Succession Coins Certified by NGC Sell for Over $5 Million

A group of historic British coins that are certified by Numismatic Guaranty Company® (NGC®) sold for $5.16 million at a Stack's Bowers auction held August 21, 2023. The coins offered by The Royal Mint included the last 500 coins struck with Queen Elizabeth II's portrait and the first 500 struck with King Charles III's portrait in six series: the Gold Sovereign, the Silver £2 Britannia and the Gold tenth-, quarter-, half- and 1-ounce Britannias.

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Leading the way in the sale were the very last 1-ounce Gold Britannia with the Queen Elizabeth II portrait (lot 117) and the very first 1-ounce Gold Britannia with the King Charles III portrait (lot 118). These coins, which are each graded NGC MS 70, sold for $50,000 and $42,000, respectively.

To highlight their important pedigree, every coin in the sale is encapsulated with a special NGC label that features the logo of The Royal Mint, which was founded over 1,100 years ago to strike coinage for England, and today is the world's leading export mint. Coins with the highest significance are encapsulated with NGC certification labels that bear the autograph of a prestigious official connected to the coins: Graeme Smith, The Queen's Assay Master from 2013 to 2022; Paul Morgan, The King's Assay Master; or Anne Jessopp, the CEO of the Royal Mint.

"NGC is proud to have been chosen to certify the coins for this extraordinary auction," said Andy Salzberg, Executive Vice President of the Certified Collectibles Group, of which NGC is part. "Collectors clearly bid with confidence knowing that these special coins are authentic, accurately graded, properly attributed and encapsulated with labels that accentuate their historical significance."

Other highlights in the auction included:

• the very last 2022 Gold Sovereign with the queen's portrait, which is graded NGC MS 70 DPL (lot 119) and realized $42,000
• the very first 2022 Gold Sovereign with the king's portrait, which is graded NGC MS 70 DPL (lot 120) and realized $34,000
• the very last Silver £2 Britannia with the Queen Elizabeth II portrait, which is graded NGC MS 70 (lot 109) and realized $19,000
• the very first Silver £2 Britannia with the King Charles III portrait, which is graded NGC MS 70 (lot 110) and realized $18,000
• the very last 2023 Gold 1/2 Ounce Britannia with the queen's portrait, which is graded NGC MS 70 (lot 115) and realized $10,500
• the very first 2023 Gold 1/2 Ounce Britannia with the king's portrait, which is graded NGC MS 70 (lot 116) and realized $10,500