When you are going to buy a Britannia gold coin 1987, you will have to look for many important things. This coin can be one of the first batch produced for this coin so it can be extremely valuable. When you are buying the Britannia gold coin, you are buying a collectable souvenir rather than an only simple gold coin. You should look for many things to judge if the price the buyer asking is right for that coin or not. This coin is special because the weight of the coin is one oz. There is a grading system for this kind of coins that will allow you to judge the price of the coin.
Why grading is controversial
There is no hard rule for grading coins. Old coins can be graded as fine by one person and very fine by the other person. It all depends upon the features of the coin. The exact lustre and detailing cannot be counted so grading is controversial. It is still not that problematic because the difference in one level of grading will not make much difference. More than one level of difference can increase or decrease the price drastically.
Who can grade the coins
The grading is mostly done by experts who have vast experience in grading the coins. This field is so vast that some people specialise in a certain type of coin category. If you are a collector and regularly buying and selling the coins, you will be able to grade the coins easily. As a normal person who has no experience of grading the coins, it is better to buy the Britannia gold coin from a reputable dealer.
UK grading system
As coin grading is controversial when we consider people judging the coins. There are also different grading systems in different countries. Our subject is Britain’s Britannia gold coin 1987 so we should look for the British grading system. The grading starts from a fine which is considered a normal coin that can be sold to the brilliant uncirculated coin that is the highest grade.
FINE
We can say that a coin is graded as fine if it has some wear on the base of the coin with some erosion on the raised edges of the coin. In the fine grading, there will be no lustre on the coin.
VERY FINE
When we consider a very fine grading, we can say that the Britannia gold coin 1987 will be in good shape and there will be no erosion on the surface. It means that the coin is circulated but not for a very long time. Upon observing with a magnifying glass, you will be able to see some wear on the raised edges. In this grading, you will also not find the full lustre.
EXTREMELY FINE
It is the grading where you will see a completely good looking coin. The coin is going to have good lustre. All the raised surfaces will not show any sign of erosion when observed with the naked eye. When we observe with the magnifying glass, only a few raised surfaces will show minor abrasion. It shows that the coin was circulated but it was kept as a souvenir from the very beginning.
UNCIRCULATED
As the name indicates, it is an uncirculated coin. It will have lustre same as a new coin that just came out of the manufacturing facility. Even when the magnifying glass is used, it will show no sign of wear. The only problem with this coin is the mark of the packaging material used to keep the coin in the place. If you get a newly manufactured coin from the facility, the coin will look the same as this coin.
BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED
It is the rarest type of Britannia gold coin 1987. This grading is given to some of the rarest coins that have all the qualities of the uncollected coin like full lustre and no erosion on the coin. The coin has an advantage that there will be no sign of any erosion due to packaging material also.
Steps to grade a Britannia gold coin:
After you have learnt about the grading of the coins, it is time for you to take your friend or a person who is expert in grading the coins with you. You must understand the grading system because you will know that if the person that you are taking with you is giving you the right advice. We can divide the coin grading into 4 steps.
PLACING IN LIGHT
It is a very important step because you will never be able to judge the grading of the coin without proper light. Ideally, you should place the coin at a distance of more than 12 inches from a strong source of light. It will allow you to see the things that are normally not visible.
PHYSICAL OBSERVATION
Before using any other equipment, you have to check the coin physically. This step is done to check the original manufacturing date of the coin and the basic coin features. Our coin is manufactured in 1987 so it should be mentioned on the coin. Other features like the raised edges and the sides can also be checked physically without the aid of any device.
MAGNIFYING GLASS OBSERVATION
After you have physically evaluated the Britannia gold coin, you can bring a magnifying glass that is capable of magnifying the object more than 6 to 8 times its normal size. It will help you judge if you can grade the coin in extremely fine or the uncirculated category. Any problems that are not physically visible can also be viewed using the magnifying glass.
COMPARISON
The coin collectors or the companies that are selling the Britannia gold coin 1987 will keep an uncirculated category coin with them so that they can show you the comparison of the uncirculated category coin and the coin that is present at that time. It will help you judge if you should buy the coin and the price at which it should be bought.
Why A 2021 Britannia Gold Coin and A Britannia Gold Coin 1987 Has The Equal Value?
2021 is a historic year for Britain. The queen of Britain celebrates her grand 95th birthday this year. Naturally, the value of 2021 Britannia gold coins is immense.
But, there is one more reason behind this 2021 gold coin’s popularity. ‘The Royal Mint’ has added some major security features to these coins. Hence, these gold coins can be identified easily. The new security features made these coins highly secure.
You can see a new design (tincture lines) on the Britannia’s shield. The image of Britannia has an animated background.
Apart from that, an image is also added near the Britannia’s feet. This image has two latent symbols inside it. Only either of these symbols is visible. So, you have to move the coin a bit to see these symbols.
A micro-text is the fourth security feature on this coin. DECUS ET TUTAMEN – is beautifully engraved around the Britannia’s artistic image.
These security features have made these bullion gold coins perfect for investment.
How Can You Identify A 2021 Premium Gold Proof Coin?
A premium gold proof coin has two images on it. The first image is of Elizabeth II. It appears on the front of the coin.
The second image is of Lady Britannia. You can see one side of her face. She has a helmet on her head. But, no trident or shield can be seen with her.
Is This Coin Good For Collection?
‘The Royal Mint’ has released a limited edition of these coins. These coins are rare treasures. Therefore, these coins are good for collection.
In 2021 these premium gold proof coins have been designed separately. This has never happened before. So, you should collect these valuable gold coins.
From 1987 to 2021 Britannia gold coins have been a good choice for collections and investment purposes. Hence, if you have no 1987 Britannia gold coins, then collect 2021 Britannia gold coins. You will get almost the same value.
