On Saturday 6 May 2023, King Charles III will have his Coronation at Westminster Abbey in London alongside Queen Consort, Camilla. The occasion will be full of pomp and ceremony. His Majesty will formally ascend to the throne after his late mother’s extraordinary reign of 70 years came to an end with her passing in September 2022. Plans for commemorative gold coins to mark Charles II’s Coronation are already well underway, with designs already finalised and approved. Pre-ordering for coins to be delivered in 2023 is now open to the public.

The new King Charles III Coronation coin is predicted to be incredibly popular among investors and fans of royal souvenirs alike. Not least due to the fact that it will be exempt from both capital gains tax and VAT. The coin is being struck by The Royal Mint like many of the Coronation coins of Charles’ predecessors. It will be a one-ounce gold Britannia coin containing one troy ounce of pure 999.9 fine gold and will have a face value of £100. The coin will be classed as legal tender, although it will not be intended for use in general circulation – more as a precious souvenir and financial investment.

The portrait of King Charles III appearing on one side of the Coronation coin has been designed by artist Martin Jennings. Charles will face to the left. Tradition demands that the new monarch always faces the other way to his or her predecessor on their coins and his mother’s portrait faced to the right. This will also be the case for the portrait of King Charles III that will appear on less valuable coins intended for general circulation.

Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation coins

As already mentioned, Charles III’s new gold coin will follow in the illustrious footsteps of other royal Coronation coins and special medallions. When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on 2 June 1953, several commemorative coins were produced to mark the event. These included gold crowns showing the new Queen’s portrait on one side that are now highly sought after. Sets of non-gold coins were also produced containing different denominations, including a farthing, halfpenny, penny, threepenny bit, sixpence, shilling, florin and half-crown. These, however, were made widely available and so will not have increased in value all that much over the years. However, they still retain huge historical interest.

Over the seven decades that followed Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation, anniversary gold coins have been struck every five years or so. This took place right up to the Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier in 2022. The long length of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign has meant, among many other things, that royal coin collectors have had plenty of choice when it comes to building a collection of Coronation anniversary gold coins from her time on the throne. Buying and selling gold Coronation coins and anniversary medallions from her time should remain a lucrative area of gold investment for some time, due to the enduring popularity of the late monarch.

Older Coronation gold coins

Of course, the tradition of creating gold commemorative coins for royal Coronations did not start with Queen Elizabeth II. What’s more, the further back in history you go, the more valuable and rarer each monarch’s Coronation coins will become. The King George VI crown from 1937, for example, is a popular coin for buying and selling via private investors. In addition, a silver commemorative medal was struck in the same year to mark the new monarch’s Coronation. It also depicts the future Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth, on one side, adding to its historical interest.

Collectors are also especially keen to find much older gold Coronation coins, such as those produced for the crowning of Queen Anne in 1702 or of King William and Queen Mary in 1689. While some Coronation coins and medallions were produced using different metals, it tends to be the gold versions that retain the highest values today. Keen collectors can trace back difference Coronation coins for British monarchs across the different centuries and obtain them for differing prices depending on their rarity and condition. What is unvarying, however, is the interest that is still shown in these fascinating pieces of history and royal portrait design.