Latest news with #goldcoins
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Royal Mint reveals one investor banked a £70,000 tax-free profit buying and selling gold... inside eight months
Record numbers of investors sold gold bullion coins back to the Royal Mint between April and June for tax-free gains as the gold price hit all time-highs, This is Money can reveal. The value of gold coins sold back to the Royal Mint reached an all-time high, up 75 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 55 per cent year-on-year. The Royal Mint operates a buyback scheme where customers can sell their gold coins. In one case, an investor purchased gold coins from the Royal Mint in October 2024, when the gold price was £1,972.40, and sold them in June 2025 for a £70,000 Capital Gains tax-free profit, by which time the gold price had risen to £2,447.74. Driving the rise in investors selling back precious metal was the gold price, which set five new all-time highs in sterling, peaking at £2,611.66 in April. This lead to 'unprecedented engagement from UK investors,' according to The Royal Mint. There has also been record demand because bullion and coins from the Royal Mint are exempt from capital gains tax, as they are classified as legal tender. Gold bars and coins bought outside of the Royal Mint are not free from capital gains tax. Despite record sell-back activity, gold coin purchases still outweighed sales by a 6:1 ratio, according to the Royal Mint. Online gold bullion coin sales reached the second-highest levels on record, with revenue up 117 per cent from the same period last year, despite a 11 per cent decline quarter on quarter. Last year, customers bought a record £750million worth of gold bullion coins from the Royal Mint. There was a 329 per cent jump in gold coin sales in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2024. Sales of all precious metals from the Royal Mint continued to grow, up 55 per cent from the same period last year. Sales of silver and platinum saw the most dramatic growth in this quarter as gold's rally prompted broadened interest in silver and platinum from investors Silver sales rose 51 per cent while platinum sales were up 188 per cent in the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period last year.. Stuart O'Reilly, market insights manager at The Royal Mint, said: 'We're seeing strategic behaviour from investors to rebalance portfolios and rotating into silver and platinum. 'The fact that silver and platinum activity has surged alongside gold's rally shows UK investors are becoming increasingly aware of the value of other precious metals, with silver and platinum often following gold's lead during major rallies.' The Royal Mint's vault operations delivered substantial quantities of bullion bars including 400oz gold bars and 1,000oz silver bars to meet record customer demand, while also processing the highest levels of customer sellbacks on record. The Royal Mint's VAT-free DigiGold range - where investors can buy fractional amounts of gold bars stored in the Royal Mint's vault - saw huge growth across all metals, with the most dramatic growth in silver and platinum. Digital Gold sales rose 103 per cent year-on-year, while Digital Platinum sales soared 798 per cent and Digital Silver sales rocketed 1,158 per cent compared to the first three months of 2024.
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Should you buy gold coins from the Royal Mint to beat tax? HELEN KIRRANE visits its home in Wales
In a small town near Cardiff more than 7,000 coins fly off the press each day. The Royal Mint, in the Welsh town of Llantrisant, is behind a modern-day gold rush, as Britons buy coins to dodge capital gains tax and seek a safe haven from global turmoil. Last year, customers bought a record £750million worth of gold bullion coins from the Mint. There has been a 329 per cent jump in gold coin sales in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2024, indicating last year's gold coin sales record is likely to be smashed. Nestled on the edge of the Rhondda Valley, the red brick of the Royal Mint's brutalist architecture sticks out against the rolling green hills. When the Royal Mint was moved here from London's Tower Hill in 1968, Llantrisant was chosen as its new home, in part because of the vast open space the site offered. The town's population is around 15,000 and almost everyone who works at the Mint lives locally. During my visit to the Llantrisant HQ, Andy Dickey, director for precious metals at the Royal Mint, tells me: 'Tax rules can change, what won't go is the inflation-hedge aspect of gold. [It] has always generally performed well in times of uncertainty and instability.' A major draw is that bullion coins from the Mint are exempt from capital gains tax as they are classified as legal tender, while gold bars and coins bought outside of the Royal Mint are not. The gold price has soared 33 per cent this year, with conflicts, trade wars and other fears fuelling the surge. This has helped the Royal Mint make bumper profits from precious metals, with latest figures showing it is raking in £20million a year – a far more lucrative endeavour than any other arm of the business. Investors are turning to physical assets. While holding £100,000 worth of half ounce gold Britannia coins on a tray, it's easy to see why. Each of the half ounce coins is worth £1,290.81 at the time of writing and there are 77 per tray, worth £99,391.60 in total. There is also the weightier and more expensive 1oz version of the Britannia coin, which costs £2,549.41. But no coin will make it in or out of the Royal Mint's airport-style security. You must leave any coinage you have on you in a safe deposit box, and bags are scanned before entering and on leaving. The Royal Mint typically mints 300 gold bullion coins an hour, or 7,200 in a day. Around half these coins are shipped to trade partners in Asia, Europe and North America. It also recently invested in a Precious Metals Recover Facility, which opened in August 2024. Here the Royal Mint can extract up to half a ton of gold for every four tons of recycled RAM computer circuit boards it receives. A significant amount of the gold the Royal Mint sells comes via its buyback service where people can cash in on items at home. Most British customers buying bullion opt for either Britannia or Sovereigns, the Royal Mint's flagship offerings. These come in sizes ranging from 1/10 of an ounce to one ounce and cost between £244.70 for a single coin and £255,205 for a box of 100. Sovereign coins are 22k gold and Britannia coins are 24k gold. Stuart O'Reilly, market insights manager at the Royal Mint, says: 'Sovereigns are having a resurgence in popularity due to their unique weight and heritage and their more accessible price point. 'People are looking at smaller weights for a more affordable entry point into gold.' Due to surging interest, the Royal Mint says it is increasingly working with private banking intermediaries on behalf of clients. Andy Dickey says a typical customer now spends £2,000 on average with the Mint. But some ultra-high net worth gold bullion investors have £20million worth of gold held in the building's vaults. Core customers are men in their 60s but women now make up 25 per cent of the customer base, up from 10 per cent before 2020. And demand from Gen Z is also picking up, although these customers tend to buy fractional coins at a lower cost. The Royal Mint believes the gold rush will continue when it announces its sales figures later this month. Henk-Jan Rikkerink, global head of solutions and multi asset at Fidelity International, believes gold will continue to respond well to further geopolitical ruptures. He says: 'We're entering a phase where traditional safe havens like US assets can no longer shoulder global portfolios. Investors must actively rewire their allocations in line with shifts in geopolitics, inflation dynamics, and trade.' Gold investors should know that investment in gold bullion coins from the Royal Mint is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Buyers must also factor in delivery or secure storage costs. Some of the coins never leave the Royal Mint and instead go straight into its secure vault where those buying gold can store it. Around 35,000 customers currently store gold, silver or platinum in the Royal Mint vault, with individual holdings ranging from £20 to £20million. It costs between 1 to 2 per cent of the value per year, depending on product, and is charged quarterly. The Royal Mint also has a sustainable gold Exchange Traded Commodity which is listed on the stock market (ticker RMAU). This fund tracks the price of the metal by owning bullion, which is stashed in its vault. You can also purchase a fractional amount of gold bars held in the Royal Mint vault through digital gold.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reclusive French Collector Hid Nearly $3.48 Million In Rare Gold Coins In The Walls Of His Home
High-end auctions are famous for having rare collectibles, but sometimes the story behind the items up for bid can be as interesting as the item itself. This was the case recently in Paris, where a collection of ultra-rare gold coins was sold for nearly $3.5 million. That part isn't unusual, but the coin's origin story defies belief. They were found hidden in the walls of their former owner's home. Paris-based auction house, Beaussant Lefèvre & Associates, conducted the sale, according to CNN. The more details they provided about the coin's history, the more unbelievable the story became. The coin's original owner was a man named Paul Narce. By all accounts, he was a quiet and unassuming man, and he kept his passion for coin collecting secret from all but a few people in his life. Don't Miss: Named a TIME Best Invention and Backed by 5,000+ Users, Kara's Air-to-Water Pod Cuts Plastic and Costs — Tired of Grid Failures and Charging Deserts? This Startup Has a Solar Fix and $25M+ in Sales — Some of the oldest coins in Narce's collection are from the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia and could date as far back as 323 B.C. Narce also had a complete set of coins from French monarchs, Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI. It's the kind of coin collection you would expect to be owned by a wealthy French businessman who travelled the world to find them, but that was not Narce's story. "Narce, who lived a modest life and didn't see a lot of the world, spent all of his money on his collection," coin expert Thierry Parsy in a public statement advertising the sale. He spent much of his life amassing the collection, which Parsy described as "exceptional both in number, with more than 1,000 pieces, as well as the rarities it contains." Parsy also said that many of Narce's coins were several hundred years old. According to Parsy, Narce died without any heirs, and only a few people in his inner circle knew he collected coins, and Parsy told CNN that none of them had any idea where he kept the coins. Complicating matters further, Narce checked into a managed care facility about a year before he died. His coins "could have remained undiscovered forever," said Parsy. Trending: Maximize saving for your retirement and cut down on taxes: If it weren't for the efforts of an enterprising notary in the small Southwestern French village where Narce lived, Narce's collection may have never been found. According to CNN, the notary searched Narce's former home and found the coin collection in a storeroom. Narce had tucked the coins away in between the walls of the storeroom and behind a painting hanging on the wall. It's quite obvious Narce put a very high premium on security and being secretive. CNN also said that old coins weren't the only currency Narce collected. The notary also found a trove of 20-franc gold coins. Narce may have been a private man, but his instincts about collecting gold coins proved to be spot on. Gold prices have been skyrocketing for much of the year. CNN reported that the $3.5 million final hammer price was significantly higher than pre-auction estimates and the current premium on gold could explain the high price. It's too bad Narce didn't get to enjoy the profits his coin collection generated.. Read Next: Invest early in CancerVax's breakthrough tech aiming to disrupt a $231B market. Can you guess how many retire with a $5,000,000 nest egg? . Image: Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Reclusive French Collector Hid Nearly $3.48 Million In Rare Gold Coins In The Walls Of His Home originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
10 times gold was found in everyday places
Gold hunting often conjures images of adventurers sifting through gold pans or seeking huge gold nuggets in far-flung locations. But sometimes gold can be right under your nose – or, for one couple, right in their back garden. Read on for some of the most unexpected and exciting gold discoveries of recent times. All dollar values in US dollars and currency conversions correct for the time of valuation. A trip to the pub usually ends with less change in your pocket. But it was a different story for five Irish builders carrying out groundwork at Cooney's Bar in Carrick-on-Suir in Tipperary, Ireland in 2013. The team of builders found 81 gold coins when working on the foundations. One of the builders, Shane Comerford, initially dismissed the coins as worthless and threw a fistful to the ground when the find disturbed their work on the pub. But once they wiped away the clay covering the coins, the builders realised they had found something special. They had discovered a hoard of 17th-century gold guineas and half guineas under the pub's floorboards. The coins went on display at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. The finder's reward for locating the gold coins was not disclosed, but it was likely enough to buy the five unlikely treasure finders a few drinks. The English town of Milton Keynes isn't the first place you'd expect to find South African money. But during lockdown in 2020, one Milton Keynes resident struck gold when they discovered 50 gold coins from apartheid-era South Africa buried in their garden. According to a report by The British Museum, the Krugerrand coins – the first in South Africa to contain one troy ounce of gold – were minted by the Rand Refinery in Germiston in the 1970s. Each coin was estimated to be worth £1,500 to £2,000 ($1.9k to $2.6k), giving the total hoard a value of up to £100,000 ($133k). The origins of the gold remain a mystery to this day. These 80 gold coins, known as US Dollar 'Double Eagles', were minted in San Francisco between 1854 and 1913. Hidden in a glass jar, they lay buried in a Hackney garden for almost 70 years. When residents made this extraordinary discovery in 2007 while digging a frog pond, they were understandably curious as to how the coins made their way to London... The incredible story goes like this: in 1940, a Jewish family fleeing the Nazis buried the coins in their London back garden, fearing a German invasion. Members of the family tragically died when the house was bombed in the Blitz, meaning the hiding place was lost for decades. After its discovery in 2007, the hoard was donated to the Museum of London, which later found one of the owners' descendants, Max Sulzbacher. He permanently donated one of the coins to the Hackney Museum, while the rest of the hoard was sold at auction for a total of £98,280 ($154k). A cleaner at South Korea's Incheon International Airport made an unbelievable discovery during a shift in May 2018. When emptying a bin, the airport worker found seven gold bars worth around $319,000 (£240k). Despite South Korea's 'Finders Keepers' law, which allows the finder to keep the trove if the owner doesn't come forward in six months, the cleaner was not allowed to claim the gold because he was on duty at the time. The unnamed airport worker missed out on the 5-20% of the gold's total price for which he would have been eligible, which would have been up to $64,000 (£48k). In November 2001, metal detectorist Cliff Bradshaw was in a potato field near Sandwich, England when his detector suddenly made a faint, high-pitched whine. The treasure hunter began to dig, and just 18 inches (45cm) below the surface he excavated an early Bronze Age artefact. Bradshaw had stumbled upon a gold chalice dating from 1700-1500 BC, which had possibly been used by a priest-ruler for spiritual purposes. Now known as the Ringlemere Cup, it was snapped up by the British Museum for £250,000 ($333k), with the lucky finder and the landowner splitting the cash. A 110-year-old piano was the unlikely hiding place for a hoard of more than 900 gold sovereign coins, the largest such haul ever found in the UK. The upright piano had been donated to Bishop's Castle Community College in 2016. While piano tuner Martin Backhouse was working on it, he found the coins stored in fabric pouches underneath the instrument's keys. The origins of the hoard remain a mystery. It's still unknown who hid the coins, which date from 1847 to 1915, so carefully beneath the piano's keys, though they probably stashed them away to keep them safe during World War I. Before its donation, Graham and Meg Hemmings had owned the piano for 33 years while their children were learning to play and were completely unaware of the treasure that lay within. The hoard, valued at £500,000 ($665k), was sold and both the college and the piano tuner who found them received a reward. The piano's previous owners didn't see a penny from the coins' sale but said they were "very happy" some of the money would go to the college. A couple in the French town of Roanne in the Loire region found themselves under police investigation after discovering 28 gold bars in their back garden. After moving into the property in 2002, the couple discovered six gold bars in 2009, followed by another 22 in 2013. The bars had an estimated value of €800,000 ($887k/£666k). Despite legally declaring the finds, the couple sparked a criminal investigation when they sold 23 of the bars, creating transaction levels that alerted an anti-money laundering agency. The news then attracted other claimants. The house's previous owner took the couple to court over the ownership of the bullion and won. The finders had to return the remaining gold, along with the money from the sale of 15 of them. In June of this year, a truly staggering gold hoard sold for almost $3.5 million (£2.6m) at auction in France. The collection of more than 1,000 gold coins featured many rarities, including several from the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia dating back as far as 336-323 BC. Almost complete sets from the reigns of French Kings Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI were also included. The coins were discovered hidden in the wall of a house in a small rural village in France. But how did they get there? The valuable collection belonged to Paul Nacre, a resident of Castillonnès (pictured). According to coin expert Thierry Parsy, 'Narce, who lived a modest life and didn't see a lot of the world, spent all of his money on his collection.' The reclusive Nacre died in a nursing home at the age of 89 last August. He had no direct heirs. The notary in charge of his estate was made aware of his hobby by villagers and set out to find the collection. An extensive search of Nacre's house turned up nothing, and the notary was ready to call it a day before peering behind a picture on a wall in a storage room. There he found a chest containing the gold coins, which Nacre had meticulously catalogued over the course of his lifetime. Staying in France, in late 2016, a man who inherited a house in the town of Evreux, Normandy was shocked to find that he had gained more than just the property. The house was filled with 220.5lb (100kg) of gold coins, ingots and bars secreted in different places. "It started when he found a tinplate box (with gold inside) screwed under a piece of furniture", according to La Dépêche, the local newspaper. The man's next find was inside a "whisky bottle box with a few gold pieces carefully hidden". The hoard gradually grew, and the lucky treasure finder sold it all for €3.5 million ($3.8m/£2.9m), though reports suggest he could have been hit with a hefty inheritance tax. While walking their dog in 2013, a couple from northern California made a record-breaking discovery. Buried on their property were several rusted cans filled with a total of 1,427 gold coins – the largest gold coin hoard ever unearthed in the US. The coins were all minted between 1847 and 1894 and probably hidden away during the 19th-century Gold Rush. Although the exact history of the coins remains a mystery, their value was estimated at $10 million (£7.5m). After the discovery, the finders of the so-called Saddle Ridge Hoard chose to remain anonymous, as US Treasure Trove Laws meant the collection could be claimed by descendants of the person who originally buried it. The finders then decided to sell the coins via Amazon. Now discover
CNN
12-06-2025
- Business
- CNN
Huge coin collection found hidden in house's walls sells for nearly $3.5 million
A huge collection of historic gold coins, recovered from the wall of a house in France after their owner passed away, has been sold for millions of euros at auction. Auction house Beaussant Lefèvre and Associates told CNN on Thursday that all of the coins had sold in Paris this week, fetching more than 3 million euros ($3.48 million) in total. The coins were collected by Paul Narce, who lived in a small village in south-west France until his death in 2024, according to Beaussant Lefèvre and Associates. 'Narce, who lived a modest life and didn't see a lot of the world, spent all of his money on his collection,' said coin expert Thierry Parsy in a statement previewing the sale. Over the years, he built up a collection of gold coins 'exceptional both in number, with more than 1,000 pieces, as well as the rarities it contains,' said Parsy. Many of the coins date back centuries, according to Parsy. Among them are ancient coins from the Kingdom of Macedonia, dating to 336-323 BC, as well as almost complete series of coins used during the reigns of French Kings Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI. Narce had no direct descendants and only a few people knew of his hobby. However, no one knew where he kept his collection, which 'could have remained undiscovered forever,' said Parsy, were it not for a notary who set out to find the coins in the house, which had been empty since Narce moved into a care home a year before he died. The notary eventually found the coins in a small space in the wall, hidden behind a painting in a store room. In addition to the carefully labelled collection, the notary also found 10 packages, each containing 172 gold 20 franc coins, equivalent to an ingot of gold. The final sale far exceeded the pre-auction estimate of 2 million euros ($2.43 million).
