2013 Silver Britannias now come in mint tubes!

silvereaglecoins

2013 saw the change of the popular silver Britannia from .958 fine Britannia silver (1997-2012) to .999 fine silver (2013). Another change for 2013 was the use of 20-coin mint tubes. The initial 2013 coins came in 20-coin blister sheets but the coins tended to be "loose" in their slots which often caused surface friction and scuffing on the Queen's cheek. The newly issued coin tubes seem to have solved that problem since the coins have a tighter fit in the tube and don't rattle around like Canadian Maples, Wildlife coins, or even American eagles -- all of which come in loose fitting tubes. Another feature of the new Britannia tube is a corner plastic nub which must be removed to open up the tube. Perhaps this nub is to keep the tubes "mint sealed"? Unfortunately, the tubes themselves are somewhat brittle with many tubes showing stress cracks from just the shipping process.

pendragon1998

I suspect that even if the tubes are tight-fitting, the coins are still going to get some rub from their travels. 2013 might end up being a difficult year, who knows? I can't tell what's going on with that one in the photo above. Dust or spotting? Particularly on the folds of her dress, it seems like some contact marks might be showing. Thanks for posting the photo!

You know, I think eventually I may wrap up my Britannias set with the 2013 composition change over. I still need to add 2011 (matte and regular) and 2012, but I'm in no rush. I've taken a big step back from collecting the last few years. With the britannia series, it just started to feel like an 'annual purchase' instead of a chase, like it was for me during the earlier years.

Have any of you ever felt like you've lost the passion? A big part of my time and money has been spoken for in a way it wasn't a few years back. Maybe that's part of it. I still enjoy looking over my photos of my coins (those that remain after the Great Purge), but I haven't taken them out of their boxes since my last move. I guess I'll hang on to them a little while longer while I see how I feel.

Sorry, didn't mean to thread-jack!

Hyperion

I'm going to get that cap design as a tattoo on my shoulder

Hyperion

<< <i>I'm going to get that cap design as a tattoo on my shoulder >>



Maybe the middle of my back/shoulders

I'm not even a brit, I'm polish