The Royal Mint has released a second limited edition £100 for £100 commemorative coin – Buckingham Palace 2015 UK £100 Fine Silver Coin. Only 50,000 of the new legal tender £100 coins are to be minted, and each will contain two full ounces of 999 fine silver.
Director of Commemorative Coin and Medals, Shane Bissett said, “Buckingham Palace is an instantly recognisable architectural icon for the millions of British citizens and tourists who have seen it in person or in pictures and on film. The building is an instinctive rallying point in the capital city during times of national celebration and mourning, and was a natural choice for the next design in The Royal Mint’s popular £100 for £100 coin series.”
The first limited edition £100 for £100 commemorative coin – Big Ben 2015 UK £100 Fine Silver Coin released in December 2014, sold out within days.
George III bought Buckingham House in 1761 for his wife, Queen Charlotte, and work began the following year to remodel it. Later, George IV would transform the house into a palace. Architect John Nash set about realising the king’s ambitious plans, but spiralling costs eventually cost him his job and King George never moved in.
Queen Victoria became the first sovereign to take up residence in 1837, however, when she married Prince Albert three years later, the shortcomings of her new home were highlighted. The Marble Arch was moved and nurseries and guest bedrooms were added. Work continued and the palace was finally finished just before the outbreak of The First World War in 1914.
Buckingham Palace was one of the sights that inspired Royal Mint’s engravers Glyn Davies and Laura Clancy when they took on the challenge of capturing something a little different with their portraits of iconic landmarks. They were motivated to picture the wonders of Britain from the point of view of the thousands of tourists who visit, cameras in hand, to collect their own memories of Britain’s famous structures and sights. In their portrait of Buckingham Palace, the building is seen as though from a tourist’s eye view, across The Mall past the Victoria Memorial.
You can get your Buckingham Palace 2015 UK £100 Fine Silver Coin at Royal Mint website www.royalmint.com.
