Britannia 1 oz or Britannia 1/2 oz: which is the better buy today?
Britannia 1 oz holds 31.10 g of fine gold and Britannia 1/2 oz 15.55 g — close enough to be the same purchase in metal, and far enough apart in everything else not to be the same coin to own.
| coin | Britannia 1 oz | Britannia 1/2 oz |
|---|---|---|
| fine gold | 31.10 g | 15.55 g |
| gross weight | 31.10 g | 15.55 g |
| purity | 999.9 ‰ · 24 kt | 999.9 ‰ · 24 kt |
| diameter | 32.69 mm | 27 mm |
| thickness | 2.79 mm | 2.10 mm |
| face value | 100 pounds | 50 pounds |
| struck | United Kingdom · since 1987 | United Kingdom · since 1987 |
The prices come from the feed, and the feed has not answered yet.
Britannia 1 oz — Struck in 999.9 gold since 2013 — earlier ones are 22 carat. Legal tender in the United Kingdom, which is what exempts it from capital gains tax there.
Britannia 1/2 oz — Half an ounce of 999.9 gold at 27 mm, fifty pounds on its face — and, like every Britannia, legal tender in the United Kingdom and free of capital gains tax there.
Both are struck in 999.9 ‰ · 24 kt: the same alloy, the same feel in the hand, and any difference on the scale is a difference in gold.
Both are modern bullion coins, struck for investors — Britannia 1 oz since 1987, Britannia 1/2 oz since 1987 — and priced on their metal and the margins above it.
So the comparison is the premium. Whichever of the two a dealer asks less for above its metal is the cheaper gold that day — and that changes shop by shop and day by day, which is what the numbers above are for.