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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
James Andrews

Biggest-ever coin produced by Royal Mint - and it weighs more than 1,000 pennies

The Royal Mint has unveiled it's biggest-ever coin - weighing in at five-kilos, roughly the same weight as 1,428 penny pieces.

The coin, a super-sized version of a classic Victorian piece, was made using lasers to make sure the original design was faithfully reproduced.

As well as the giant, 5kg version, the Royal Mint also produced four "smaller" 2kg coins - which are selling for £119,950 each.

The Mint did not disclose what the 5kg version sold for.

The Royal Mint's Nicola Howell said: "The Great Engravers series celebrates some of the finest artists that have worked on British coinage and we are thrilled to start the series with William Wyon's Una And The Lion design.

"This is arguably one of the most admired designs amongst coin collectors across the globe, and remastering it onto five and two-kilo coins allows you to truly appreciate the detail of the design."

Working on the new, huge, coin (Royal Mint)

William Wyon was chief engraver at the Royal Mint from 1828 until his death in 1851.

Best known for his coin and medal portraits of Queen Victoria, his Una And The Lion design is considered by collectors as one of the world's most beautiful coins.

To reproduce it, the Royal Mint used a combination of traditional engraving methods and modern techniques.

The 200-year-old die was digitally scanned and current chief engraver Gordon Summers then ensured the relief was accurately reproduced.

Lasers were then used to carefully cut the design onto the five-kilo coin before the piece was hand-polished to ensure the finish was of the highest possible standard.

As part of the collection, a series of smaller and cheaper coins will also be available, with 2,980 two-ounce silver coins selling for £180 each.

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