Why foreign gold coins reach UK charity shops at all
The UK has held large overseas civilian and military populations for most of the last century, and British retirees have come home from postings, holidays and emigration with coins from every country those routes touched. When a house clearance reaches a charity shop, the small bag of "foreign change" often contains one or two heavy yellow coins that the family kept separately. Those are the ones worth flagging.
A charity shop team that learns the eight or nine common design families can recognise foreign gold without learning the exact issue. Recognition triggers a photo. The photo goes to GoldPaid on WhatsApp. The valuation comes back before anything is decided. That is the workflow this guide is written to support.
American Gold Eagles and earlier US gold
The American Gold Eagle is the United States bullion coin, struck since 1986 in one-ounce, half-ounce, quarter-ounce and tenth-ounce denominations. The obverse shows Lady Liberty striding forward holding a torch and an olive branch, copied from the older Saint-Gaudens twenty-dollar coin. The reverse shows a family of eagles. Each coin's fine-gold content is stamped on the reverse. The alloy is 91.67 per cent gold (22 carats), the rest copper and silver, which gives the coins a slightly warmer colour than pure gold.
Older US gold also turns up. The Liberty Head double eagle (1850 to 1907) and the Saint-Gaudens double eagle (1907 to 1933) are both twenty-dollar coins containing 30.09g of fine gold. Earlier ten-dollar and five-dollar coins follow the same purity and proportionally smaller weights. Pre-1933 US gold can carry numismatic premiums well above the bullion floor, especially for the Saint-Gaudens series. A photograph before posting is the right step in every case.
Canadian Maple Leaves
The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf has been struck since 1979 by the Royal Canadian Mint. The obverse carries the reigning British monarch (Queen Elizabeth II for the bulk of the series, then King Charles III from 2023). The reverse shows a single maple leaf in sharp relief. Standard Maple Leaves are 99.99 per cent fine gold (24 carats), and recent issues are 99.999 per cent. There is no alloyed copper, so the coins are a paler, more yellow gold than an Eagle or a Krugerrand.
Maple Leaves are struck in one-ounce, half, quarter, tenth and twentieth-ounce sizes. The fine-gold weight and purity are engraved on the reverse around the leaf. The pure-gold alloy is soft and Maple Leaves scratch and dent more easily than 22-carat bullion coins. A scratched or fingerprinted Maple Leaf still carries its full bullion value; the marks reduce numismatic premium only on proof issues.
South African Krugerrands
The Krugerrand is the oldest modern bullion coin, struck since 1967 by the South African Mint. The obverse shows Paul Kruger, the nineteenth-century president of the South African Republic. The reverse shows a springbok antelope. The coin is 91.67 per cent gold, alloyed with copper, which gives it a distinctly reddish colour that distinguishes it on sight from a Maple Leaf.
A one-ounce Krugerrand contains one troy ounce of fine gold. Fractional Krugerrands at half, quarter and tenth-ounce sizes were introduced from 1980. The fine-gold weight is engraved on the reverse. Krugerrands trade as bullion the world over, and numismatic premiums are rare; the exceptions are proof issues, low-mintage anniversary issues, and the one-off platinum, silver and rhodium variants which are not gold and which a charity team should photograph and send through the same route.
French gold: the Rooster, Napoleon III, and the Marianne
France issued large quantities of gold francs across the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and they survive in great numbers in UK family collections from First World War service and from cross-Channel marriage. The twenty-franc Rooster (1898 to 1914) shows a Marianne head on the obverse and a Gallic rooster on the reverse. The same Marianne obverse pairs with an angel on the earlier "Angel" twenty-franc series. The Napoleon III twenty-franc (1853 to 1870) shows the laureate or bare head of Napoleon III. All three series are 90 per cent gold (21.6 carats) and contain 5.81g of fine gold in the twenty-franc denomination.
Ten-franc, fifty-franc and hundred-franc gold coins from the same era exist at proportional weights. The Rooster series is the one most charity-shop teams encounter; the design is bright, the reverse rooster is unmistakable, and the coin is roughly the size of a one-penny piece. The bullion value tracks the London fix; numismatic premiums on common dates are usually modest.
German marks: Wilhelm, the eagle and the empire
The German Empire (1871 to 1918) struck gold ten-mark and twenty-mark coins across all the constituent kingdoms and duchies. The most common in UK donations are the Prussian twenty-mark coins of Wilhelm I and Wilhelm II, showing the moustached imperial portrait on the obverse and the imperial eagle on the reverse. The coins are 90 per cent gold (21.6 carats) and the twenty-mark contains 7.17g of fine gold.
Bavarian, Saxon, Württemberg and Hamburg twenty-marks are smaller in surviving numbers and sometimes carry numismatic premium. The Hamburg issues show the Hamburg city arms on the obverse instead of a personal portrait. A clear photograph of both sides is enough for GoldPaid to identify the kingdom and the date and to indicate the likely range.
Mexican fifty pesos and the Latin American family
The Mexican fifty-peso gold coin (1921 onwards) is one of the heaviest single gold coins a charity-shop team is likely to see. It contains 37.5g of fine gold at 90 per cent purity. The obverse shows the Mexican coat of arms (an eagle on a cactus eating a snake); the reverse shows the Winged Victory statue of Mexico City with two mountains behind. The coin is large in the hand, roughly the diameter of a fifty-pence piece, and noticeably heavy.
Mexican twenty-peso, ten-peso, five-peso and two-and-a-half-peso gold coins follow the same family of designs at proportionally smaller weights. The two-and-a-half-peso is small and easy to dismiss; weigh it on a kitchen scale before posting. Similar gold coins exist from across Latin America (Colombia, Peru, Chile, Cuba) at various purities; the Mexican issues are by far the most common in UK donations.
Austrian and Hungarian ducats and Franz Joseph
The Austro-Hungarian Empire struck gold ducats and gold florins (gulden) into the early twentieth century, and large numbers of restrikes were issued by the Austrian Mint right through the twentieth century at the original specifications. The most common are the four-ducat gold piece, the one-ducat, and the four-florin coin, all bearing the bearded portrait of Franz Joseph. Standard ducats are 98.6 per cent gold (23.6 carats), one of the highest purities in any historical gold coin.
The Austrian 100-corona restrike, also bearing Franz Joseph, is large and showy and turns up regularly in donations. It contains 30.49g of fine gold at 90 per cent purity. Hungarian Kossuth and St Stephen gold coins from the early twentieth century are scarcer and often carry numismatic premium. Photograph both sides.
Why purity varies and what 917, 900 and 999 mean on a coin
Most older coinage gold sits at 90 per cent (often written as 900 or .900) because copper was deliberately alloyed in to harden the coin against wear. British sovereigns and American Eagles are 91.67 per cent (917 or 11/12) for the same reason. Modern bullion coins from Canada, Austria (Philharmonic), Australia (Kangaroo) and China (Panda) are 99.9 per cent or 99.99 per cent (999 or 9999) because they are intended for stacking, not for circulation.
The practical implication is that a 90 per cent coin and a 99.99 per cent coin of the same gross weight contain different amounts of fine gold. The bullion value is set on fine-gold content, not gross weight. XRF assay reads the alloy directly, and the written offer is set on the fine-gold reading and the LBMA PM fix on the day of valuation.
Why most foreign gold coins are bullion-priced
A small number of foreign gold coins carry significant numismatic premium. Early dates of the Saint-Gaudens double eagle, some pre-1933 US gold, scarce Hamburg and Bavarian twenty-marks, certain Krugerrand proof issues, and some Mexican variants come up. The remainder, which is the great majority of what reaches a UK charity shop, trades at the bullion floor.
A charity team does not need to know which coins are numismatic. The team needs to know that the answer changes by issue, year and condition, and that a photo before posting takes two minutes. Indicative figures move with the market; the firm offer is set only after XRF assay confirms purity and weight of the specific coin sent.
The photo-first rule for foreign coins
- Set the coin aside in a labelled envelope. Do not display it, sell it, or describe it to a public visitor.
- Photograph both sides on a plain background, in daylight. The portrait, the date and any visible weight or fineness mark must be readable.
- If a kitchen scale is available, weigh the coin and record the figure in grams.
- Send the photos and the weight to GoldPaid on WhatsApp (07375 071158) with the shop name and charity.
- An indicative figure is usually returned the same day with notes on whether the coin sits in the bullion bracket or carries a numismatic premium.
- If the charity accepts, GoldPaid sends a prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, up to £2,500 cover, higher available on request before posting.
- Where the offer is accepted before 3pm UK time, payment is by Faster Payments to the charity's registered bank account the same business day.
- Free insured return of any item the charity chooses not to sell.
Common questions
How do I know a coin is gold and not gold-plated?
Plated coins are usually base metal (often brass or copper) with a thin gold layer. They feel lighter in the hand than solid gold of the same size, and a weight check on a kitchen scale shows the gap. Solid gold is dense; a one-ounce gold coin weighs 31.1g. Plated copies often weigh under 20g for the same diameter. XRF assay on arrival confirms the alloy.
Should the charity sort coins by country before sending?
No. Send them all together in the same Royal Mail Special Delivery parcel. The assay is the same whatever the country of issue, and a single parcel keeps the postal cover and the paperwork in one place. The valuation report lists every coin separately with the country, denomination, date and reading.
What if the coin has a hole drilled in it for a chain?
It still has bullion value. A drilled coin loses any numismatic premium but the fine-gold weight is reduced only slightly. The assay measures what is there. Send the coin with everything else; the valuation will record the drilled status and price accordingly.
Are commemorative gold coins (royal weddings, jubilees) worth flagging?
Yes. Modern commemoratives from the Royal Mint, the Pobjoy Mint, and the various Crown Agents mints are usually struck in 22-carat or 24-carat gold and carry the bullion floor as a minimum. Some carry collector premium. Photograph the coin and any certificate of authenticity that came with it.
Does the original case or box matter?
For modern proof issues, yes; the original box and certificate of authenticity often add to the collector value. For circulation-era gold (Victorian sovereigns, French Roosters, German marks) the box is rarely original and rarely material. Send what came with the coin; the report will note any difference made by the packaging.
What is the postal cover if the parcel is worth more than £2,500?
Royal Mail Special Delivery cover is up to £2,500, with higher cover available on request before posting. A short WhatsApp message in advance is enough to arrange the higher cover; the label sent will be at the agreed cover level.