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 Replies: 20 / Views: 4,076 |
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
90 Posts |
So I decided to nibble a few more brand new silver Britannias after the big price drop, but was rather unnerved by the quality of them. Check out these 2 pics. Notice the coin edge almost look like it was half stamped!, and on the 2nd pic I have one of the new coins on the right alongside a coin I had bought previously on the left. Notice how the newer coin on the right is more soapy looking with ripples on the background surface that should be flat. I know that the quality of 2013 Silver Britannias in general haven't been that great and some websites have commented on this, but it's the cut of the edge in particular which has worried me. I've never seen that before on a brand new coin. The weight seems ok, if I tap it it makes the same ringing sound as previously bought coins, but the finish is dreadful!.I know these are bullion coins, not uncirculated or proof, but still. Is this just a case of The Royal Mint over-working their machines to keep up with bullion demand?, or should I be concerned here. I've contacted the retailer awaiting a response in the meantime... *edited for correct terminology, edges not rims* (click on images for larger version)   Edited by Arksun
04/22/2013 4:33 pm
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Pillar of the Community
1283 Posts |
I agree with you Brits are my least favorite world issue.
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Valued Member
United States
456 Posts |
Britannias used to be my favorite world issue, but they swung and missed this year with their quality control. Hopefully it's just growing pains with the composition/size change.
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Valued Member
United States
117 Posts |
I also dislike the Britannias, only because it's .958 silver, instead of the usual .999 or .9999 silver bullions everyone else seems to make.
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Valued Member
United States
456 Posts |
Eupion, the 2013 is .999 fine.
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Valued Member
 United Kingdom
90 Posts |
Yup, it seems since they switched from .958 to .999 silver the quality control has gone down the toilet, but I've never seen half way grooves like that on the Rim before. It seems unlikely to be fake having bought from a supposed reputable dealer, and it came with invoice with 2 signatures of quality check on it, but still... hmmm, maybe I should just email The Royal Mint! |
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Valued Member
United States
214 Posts |
Terrible - This year I thought they also changed it to mint to order so it's not limited any longer like they used to be.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
548 Posts |
It pains me to say this because it's my national mint I'm talking about but The Royal Mint f***ing sucks. Everything they sell is hideously overpriced. If I want a 1oz silver proof it's actually much cheaper for me to buy from the Perth Mint and get it shipped all the way to the UK than it is to buy from The Royal Mint. Even taking into account currency conversion fees and import duty it still works out cheaper. And now, in 2013, when the horse has bolted The Royal Mint decides to start selling 999 bullion coins. They've taken the one thing that made the Britannia slightly special (the 958 purity which meant to contain 1oz silver the coin had to be larger than any other bullion coin) and ditched it because they want a piece of a market that has been cornered by Maples, Eagles, Pandas and Philharmonics. It's a joke. Bottom line is The Royal Mint trades on its history, not on the quality of its products. They go on and on about how they've been making coins for 1,000 years and they seem to think that justifies substandard products at high prices. Edited by Demarco Bishopp
04/22/2013 3:25 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
1661 Posts |
There are been many complaints about the quality of bullion Brits on various forums and one dealer now even warns about it as well.
Yours does appear to be free of the scuff marks that I have seen others post pictures of, especially on the side with the Queen on it.
Ken
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5202 Posts |
Quote:
Yours does appear to be free of the scuff marks that I have seen others post pictures of, especially on the side with the Queen on it. Do you mean scuff marks like this:  I wasn't overly concerned, since I bought mine as bullion and not as gradable coins, but it's still a bit annoying.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
"Everything they sell is hideously overpriced." --- "... The Royal Mint trades on its history, not on the quality of its products." D.Bishop---In the course of my entire lifetime of reading, I've hardly ever seen anybody describe anything more accurately, completely and succinctly than you described the British Royal Mint with those two statements. The 2013 Britannias are widely recognized as being an embarrassment to The Royal Mint. The Mexican Casa de Moneda puts out their silver Libertads in those comical open-ended cardboard tubes and ships them in bags and even then the Libs come through their travels (or "travails"?) far less damaged and looking way better than the (formerly) respected Britannias. If that isn't the all-time call for a major reality check over at The Royal Mint, I don't know what ever could be. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
1661 Posts |
Yes, that is a good example of the scuff marks. Makes me want to dig my 2013 out that I had since December of 2012 to see how it looks.
Ken
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
90 Posts |
I haven't had many surface scuff marks on the face, but what in the world would case the edge to end up looking like it was dodgily pressed as two seperate sections?!!?!. Almost makes me want to drill into one and do an acid test.
It's the edge that concerns me the most, as previous silver britannias I've bought we're fine with the edge.
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Pillar of the Community
Japan
666 Posts |
I wanted to replace 1 2013 brit I had ... looks like quality issues are still there ... let my brit stay with the scars on the face of Lizzy in order to remind myself not to go after Britannias in the future
back to my kookas, pandas, lunars ...
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
548 Posts |
I'm adopting a "wait and see" attitude towards Britannias. Until now I've found them attractive because they're my country's official bullion coin and I like how the design changes every couple of years. I'm thinking now that The Royal Mint has tried to enter the bullion market they may stop with the re-designs. That coupled with the decline in quality seen in the 2013 coins may convince me to abandon this avenue of collecting and concentrate on the Pandas and Koalas. |
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
90 Posts |
Just had confirmation from a different dealer who also said their recent coins suffer the same problem. So legit product, just god aweful quality control at Royal Mint. No wonder The Royal Mint aren't selling a proof version of the 2013 Silver Britannia on their own website, only 2012 version, they can't make one of good enough quality! |
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Replies: 20 / Views: 4,076 |
Posted 04/22/2013 1:40 pm
