2021 1/4 oz Great Britain Gold Standard Coin

Designed in 2016 to mark 200 years since the de facto introduction of the gold standard – tying the value of the British pound to that of gold – The Gold Standard 2021 bullion coin is an annual offering from The Royal Mint.

The Gold Standard

The journey to Britain’s adoption of a gold standard can be traced through The Royal Mint’s long history, including back to 1717 when Sir Isaac Newton issued a report that led to the gold guinea being assigned a fixed value. The Coinage Act of 1816 changed the financial system in Britain dramatically, and introduced a circulating gold coin – the iconic sovereign. A new gold standard tying the value of the sovereign to a precise measurement of gold was adopted to help stabilize the country’s war-torn economy, and by 1821, a gold standard was fully operational in Britain.