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Fractional platinum coins

23 April 2020

The Royal Mint’s 2020 Britannia 1/10oz platinum bullion coin - reverse

Fractional coins are a budget-friendly way of owning physical platinum

Demand for physical precious metals has escalated as investors seek hard assets to mitigate the significantly increased global risk associated with the unfolding economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Precious metal refineries and national mints have started reopening and the negative impacts of business curtailment on distribution chains have eased somewhat. Some replenishment of depleted stocks of physical bars and coins has commenced.

Ensuring as wide a choice as possible for investors remains a priority for major coin distributors and fractional precious metals coins provide a further way of achieving this.

Fractional sizes refer to any size of a precious metal coin that is less than the standard one ounce size. Common denominations include 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz. There are some sizes that can go as low as 1/25 oz, for example the 1/25 oz Philharmonic from the Austrian Mint.

The Royal Mint’s 2020 Britannia 1/10oz platinum bullion coin - obverse

The UK’s Royal Mint, as producers of the 1/10 oz platinum Britannia bullion coin, sees fractional coins as an important stepping-stone for investors who are either new to precious metals investing, or are seeking to add to or diversify their portfolio.

Speaking about the 1/10 oz platinum Britannia bullion coin, Andrew Dickey, Precious Metals Divisional Director at The Royal Mint, says:

“The fractional 1/10 oz platinum Britannia bullion coin has been a great success story for us at The Royal Mint.  It has allowed us to make our product offering a lot more accessible and it represents a great entry-level product for first time investors.”

Precious metal value

The 1/10 oz platinum Britannia coin was first launched in 2018. It is legal tender in the UK, with a face value of £10, meaning that it does not attract capital gains tax for UK residents. Its weight and purity –  it is struck in 99.95 per cent pure platinum ¬– are guaranteed by the British government. Although the fractional Britannia coin is classed as legal tender, it is not intended for circulation. Its value is linked to the intrinsic value of the precious metal within it, rather than the face value of the denomination.

To further serve the needs of investors during the unprecedented disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, several suppliers of precious metal bullion bars and coins, while still processing orders as normal, are offering customers safe storage options until normal shipping operations resume.


Brendan Clifford, Investor Development, [email protected]
Trevor Raymond, Research, [email protected]
David Wilson, Research, [email protected]
Vicki Barker, Investor Communications, [email protected]

WPIC does not provide investment advice.
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