Biggest coin ever made with legal value of £1,000 made of 1kg of solid gold set to sell for £65,000

Biggest coin ever made with legal value of £1,000 made of 1kg of solid gold set to sell for £65,000

Mangalore Today News Network

The biggest ever gold coin, in both size and value, made by the Royal Mint is set to be cashed in for £65,000.

The enormous coin measures 4.5 inches in diameter - about the size of a CD - and is made from 1kg of solid gold.

Its value is £1,000 - the largest denomination for a coin ever issued by the Royal Mint.

But it would be a little foolish to use the legal tender coin as payment for an item as the 32ozs of gold used to make it is worth £33,000.

Expensive: The Queen’s head on the £1,000 coin and right, a Chinese Dragon on the reverse, signifying that 2012 is the year of the dragon. Just ten of the coins are in existence

Ten of the coins, that are three quarters of an inch thick, were struck having been commissioned by specialist coin auctioneers Baldwin’s of London.

They are legal tender in the Channel island of Alderney and have an enormous image of the Queen on one side and a Chinese dragon on the other.

They were made this year to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee as well as the Chinese Year of the Dragon.

This example has been made available for sale by Baldwin’s with a pre-sale estimate of about £65,000.

The auction is to take place in Hong Kong to appeal to the burgeoning Asian market.

Ian Goldbart, managing director of Baldwin’s, said: ’This is the first year we have commissioned a Royal Mint coin with a Chinese zodiac design, and I think the dragon is an obvious start.

’It is the biggest gold coin made by the Royal Mint as far as I know - both in terms of denomination and size.

The coin sits inside the commemorative wooden box set. It is the biggest ever gold coin, measuring 4.5 inches in diameter, and is being auctioned with a pre-sale price of £65,000

A second shot issued by the Royal Mint ahead of the auction in Hong Kong reveals just how big the gold coin is. They are being auctioned in Asia to appeal to the wealthy market

’It is legal tender and in theory the owner could walk into a sweet shop and use the 1,000 pounds coin as payment.

’They would be very foolish to do that of course, because it is made from 32 ounces of solid gold which is worth about 33,000 pounds.

’And the exceptional rarity of the coin means its value is likely to be double that amount.

’There is a massive market in the Far East for this sort of thing.

’There is also a great investment potential in it as well. Because it is legal tender, there would be no capital gains tax to be paid on it in the future which would be good for the owner if the price of gold goes up.

’It is definitely something for somebody to put away for the future.’

The coin, created by the Royal Mint’s most senior engraver Gordon Summers, comes in a mahogany case and with a special certificate.

It is being auctioned by Baldwin’s in Hong Kong on August 23.

Cortesy: Dailymail London