The one hundred pound coin (£100) is a commemorative denomination of sterling coinage. Issued for the first time by the Royal Mint in 2015 and sold at face value, £100 coins hold

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in ...

status but are intended as collectors' items and are not found in general circulation. , the silver content of each coin (in bullion quantities) was worth about £35.

Design

The designs which have appeared on the £100 coin's reverse are summarised in the table below.

Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben)

The first minting of a new commemorative coin denominated £100 was announced on 29 December 2014. The coins contain of

fine silver The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hard ...

, with a diameter of . The first mintage of this denomination totalled 50,000 coins. The 2015 issue features the

Ian Rank-Broadley Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS (born 1952) is a British sculptor who has produced many acclaimed works, among which are several designs for British coinage and the memorial statue of Princess Diana at Kensington Palace in London unveiled on her 60th ...

portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and an image of

Elizabeth Tower Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The official ...

, often called Big Ben after the bell it houses, on the reverse.

Buckingham Palace

In early August 2015, the Royal Mint announced a second £100 coin would be minted. The new issue, as with the previous one, would be limited to 50,000 coins, each made of .999 fine silver, weighing and having a diameter of . This second issue features an image of Buckingham Palace by Glyn Davies and Laura Clancy on the reverse, while on the obverse is a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by

Jody Clark Jody Clark (born 1 March 1981) is a British engraver formerly employed by the Royal Mint. He designed the fifth and final portrait of Queen Elizabeth II to feature on coins of the pound sterling, and that portrait was the fifth and final to f ...

, making it the first face-value coin to feature that portrait.

Trafalgar Square

In 2016, the Royal Mint announced a third £100 coin would be minted, featuring

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

. The new issue was limited to 45,000 coins, each made of .999 fine silver, weighing and having a diameter of .

Legal tender status

The prolific issuance since 2013 of silver commemorative £20, £50 and £100 coins at face value has led to attempts to spend or deposit these coins, prompting the Royal Mint to clarify the legal tender status of these coins. Royal Mint guidelines advise that, although the coins were approved as legal tender, they are considered limited edition collectables not intended for general circulation, and hence shops and banks are not obliged to accept them.

References