Marengo 20 Lire or Britannia 1 oz: which is the better buy today?
Marengo 20 Lire holds 5.81 g of fine gold and Britannia 1 oz 31.10 g: Britannia 1 oz holds 5.36 times the gold of Marengo 20 Lire. The metal costs the same per gram in both; what differs is how much of the price is the coin rather than the gold — and the small one always carries more of it.
| coin | Marengo 20 Lire | Britannia 1 oz |
|---|---|---|
| fine gold | 5.81 g | 31.10 g |
| gross weight | 6.45 g | 31.10 g |
| purity | 900 ‰ · 21.6 kt | 999.9 ‰ · 24 kt |
| diameter | 21 mm | 32.69 mm |
| thickness | 1.30 mm | 2.79 mm |
| face value | 20 lire | 100 pounds |
| struck | Italy · 1861–1897 | United Kingdom · since 1987 |
The prices come from the feed, and the feed has not answered yet.
Marengo 20 Lire — The Italian 20 lire of the Latin Monetary Union — the same 5.81 g of gold as a Napoléon or a Vreneli, which is why the three trade together.
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.
Marengo 20 Lire is 900 ‰ · 21.6 kt, so it weighs 6.45 g for its 5.81 g of gold; Britannia 1 oz is 999.9 ‰ · 24 kt, 31.10 g on the scale. Neither holds more gold for the difference: the alloy is hardness, which is why Marengo 20 Lire can be handled and Britannia 1 oz travels in a capsule.
Marengo 20 Lire was money before it was an investment — struck from 1861 to 1897 — and is bought today as a bullion coin on the strength of being recognised everywhere; Britannia 1 oz has been struck for investors since 1987, and its price is the metal plus the mint’s and the dealer’s margin, nothing else.
What decides between them is not the gold, which costs the same per gram in both, but everything charged per coin: striking, distribution, the shop’s margin. Spread over 5.81 g the small coin carries far more of it per gram than the big one does over 31.10 g — which is why Marengo 20 Lire is nearly always the dearer gold, and why it is bought anyway: it sells in smaller pieces, and sells everywhere.