The 2022 Modern British Trade Dollar 1oz Gold Proof Coin

Trade Dollars were first introduced in the late 15th Century, when the ‘Spanish Dollar’ was used as a standardised currency to facilitate international trade. Minted to a consistent specification and worth eight Spanish Reales, the reliable, trusted Spanish Dollars were the original “pieces of eight”!

The first British Trade Dollar followed in 1895. These silver coins were issued to the same specification as the trusted Spanish Dollar, making it easier for British Merchants to participate in the Oriental silk, porcelain, spice and tea trade which flourished at the end of the First Opium War.

The original British Trade Dollar was designed by engraver George William De Saulles, and depicted, for the first time, a helmet-wearing standing image of Britannia holding a trident and British shield with a merchant ship in the background. Presentation pieces were struck in gold by the Bombay Mint, and carry a mint mark “B”, located in the central prong of the trident. Fewer than six original gold British Trade Dollars are thought to exist in the world today making it one of the world’s rarest gold coins.