Is The Royal Mint Experience Worth Visiting?
The Royal Mint Experience is a tourist attraction in Llantrisant, South Wales.
The Royal Mint Experience is located on the site where The Royal Mint makes the UK's coins. The Mint moved to Llantrisant from London in 1968. They required more space to meet the demands of decimal coinage, which was being introduced at this time.
Visitors to The Royal Mint Experience can enjoy a state-of-the-art museum showcasing coins, minting equipment, artwork, and more, as well as guided tours of the Royal Mint's production line. This is a great way to learn about the history of British coinage and how our money is made today.
What Is A Strike Your Own Royal Mint Coin?
A highlight of any visit to The Royal Mint Experience is the opportunity to mint your own coin.
If you want to strike your own coin at The Royal Mint Experience, you will first need to book tickets. When you check in for your visit, you will be given the option of striking your own coin during your tour. Striking your own coin costs £7.50 per person. Visitors have the option of purchasing two additional pre-struck coins.
Striking your own coin is a one-of-a-kind experience and provides a unique souvenir of your visit to The Royal Mint.
The designs used for Strike Your Own coins change regularly, often mirroring recent releases from The Royal Mint. Fifty Pence coins are the most common type of Strike Your Own coin, but Two-Pound and One-Pound coins have also been offered.
These coins have a brilliant uncirculated (BU) finish and come in unique packaging, printed with information about the coin design.
Are Strike Your Own Coins Collectable?
Royal Mint Experience Strike Your Own coins are increasingly collectable.
Collectors enjoy the unique nature of these coins and the experience of minting their own coins. Many visit the Royal Mint Experience multiple times per year to collect different designs.
The limited edition nature of Strike Your Own coins also appeals to collectors. Designs are generally available for between one and three months. Sales data released by The Royal Mint shows that some designs were struck by visitors just a few hundred times. That makes some Strike Your Own Coins significantly rarer than regular brilliant uncirculated editions of the same coin design.
The rarity of these pieces and the regularity of design changes makes Strike Your Own coins appealing to serious collectors of modern UK coins. If you have completed your £2 and 50p albums, Strike Your Own coins could be a good option for a more challenging new collection.
The Rarest Strike Your Own UK Coins
Some Strike Your Own coins are rarer than others.
Coins that are offered for a short period of time are particularly sought after by Strike Your Own collectors.
The Royal Wedding £5 was only offered as a Strike Your Own coin on 19 and 20 May 2018 to celebrate the marriage of Prince Harry and Megan Markle. Since the design was only available for two days, only 508 are known to have been struck. Examples of this rare Strike Your Own can sell for hundreds of pounds.
Strike Your Own coins available for only one day - known as Struck On The Day coins - may be even rarer. Visitors who came to The Royal Mint Experience on 6 February 2022 could strike a special Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee coin, with another one-day-only issue offered on 6 May 2023 for King Charles III's Coronation.
Another rare Strike Your Own coin is the 2018 Isaac Newton 50p. This 50p design was put into general circulation in 2017 so the coins you find in your change will have this date. The 2018 Strike Your Own Issac Newton 50p is the only way to get hold of this design with 2018 date.
Buying Pre-Owned Strike Your Own Coins
At The Britannia Coin Company, we offer a range of pre-owned Strike Your Own coins, including sought-after pieces like the Strike Your Own 2022 Hogwarts Express 50p and the 2022 Strike Your Own Harry Potter 50p.
Pre-owned Strike Your Own coins may display more toning than standard brilliant uncirculated coins. This is because of the way these coins are handled when they are placed in their packaging and because, in most cases, the coin is not sealed in its card sleeve but is easily removable. Subtle fingerprints, toning and minor marks may be present on these coins, though these imperfections do not significantly affect their collectability.
Sell Strike Your Own Fifty Pence Coins
The Britannia Coin Company is one of the UK's leading buyer of pre-owned Royal Mint collectable coins, including Strike Your Owns, brilliant uncirculated coins, proof sets and precious metal pieces. Contact us today to discuss selling your Royal Mint coins for a fair price, or book an appointment at our valuation centre.