The British one hundred pound piece (£100) is a commemorative denomination of sterling coinage made from over 99% silver with a nominal value of one hundred pounds sterling. Issued for the first time by the Royal Mint in 2015 and sold at face value, £100 coins hold legal tender status to unlimited amounts. They are intended as collector's items and are rarely found in general circulation. , the silver content of each coin (in bullion quantities) was worth about £46. using 'XAG' and GBP as the 'currency' pair. The source gives GBP per troy ounce (about £23 midline for the six months ending 31/10/24). 62.86g = 2.021ozt => £46.46. Discarding false precision, call it £46.
Design The designs which have appeared on the £100 coin's reverse are summarised in the table below.
Year Design Designer 2015 Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) Davies & Clancy 2015 Buckingham Palace Davies & Clancy 2016 Trafalgar Square Davies & Clancy
Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben)
The first minting of a new commemorative coin denominated £100 was announced on 29 December 2014. The coins contain of fine silver, with a diameter of . The first mintage of this denomination totalled 50,000 coins.
The 2015 issue features the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and an image of Elizabeth Tower, often called Big Ben after the bell it houses, on the reverse.
Buckingham Palace In August 2015, the Royal Mint announced a second £100 coin would be minted. The new issue, as with the previous one, would be limited to 50,000 coins, each made of .999 fine silver, weighing and having a diameter of .
This second issue features an image of Buckingham Palace by Glyn Davies and Laura Clancy on the reverse, while on the obverse is a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Jody Clark, making it the first face-value coin to feature that portrait.
Trafalgar Square In 2016, the Royal Mint announced a third £100 coin would be minted, featuring Trafalgar Square. The new issue was limited to 45,000 coins, each made of .999 fine silver, weighing and having a diameter of .
Legal tender status
The prolific issuance since 2013 of silver commemorative £20, £50 and £100 coins at face value has led to attempts to spend or deposit these coins, prompting the Royal Mint to clarify the legal tender status of these coins. Royal Mint guidelines advise that, although the coins are legal tender, they are considered limited edition collectables not intended for general circulation, and hence shops and banks are not obliged to accept them.
See also
Coins of the pound sterling Twenty pounds (British coin) Fifty pounds (British coin) Sovereign (British coin)
References