An auction by Stack’s Bowers Galleries in cooperation with the Royal Mint to sell the first coins of King Charles III and the last coins of Queen Elizabeth II realized more than $5.1 million.

The Aug. 21 auction of sovereign and Britannia coins was dubbed the Royal Succession coin series. These historic pieces represent the last coins struck featuring the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II and the first coins struck bearing the portrait of King Charles III for each series.

The coins were sold during nine hours of bidding, “emphasizing the significance of these historic coins and resulting in numerous record prices along with an impressive 100% sell-through rate across all 690 lots,” the auction house said.

Top prices paid

The sale’s top prices were achieved by the very last gold 1-ounce Britannia struck under Queen Elizabeth II and the very first gold 1-ounce Britannia struck under King Charles III, which sold for $50,000 and $42,000 respectively (all prices include the buyer’s fees).

These coins now rank as the first and second most valuable gold 1-ounce Britannia coins sold at auction since this series was introduced in 1987, the auction house said.

The very last and very first gold sovereign coins also realized strong prices, $42,000 and $34,000 respectively.

New price records were also established by the silver 1-ounce Britannia coins, with the very last coin struck under Queen Elizabeth II selling for $19,000 and the very first coin struck under King Charles III realizing $18,000.

Each coin in the sale was graded and encapsulated by Numismatic Guaranty Co.

This auction follows a similar auction in conjunction with the U.S. Mint in 2022, when Stack’s Bowers Galleries sold special transitional coins from the American Eagle bullion coin series in a sale realizing more than $4.6 million.

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