Gold 50p Brexit coins sell out in hours

The 50p coin to commemorate Brexit has been beset by problems and repeated delays.

Its gold counterpart has proved a glittering success, however. The Royal Mint has said it has now fully sold out ahead of Britain’s departure from the EU at 11pm tonight.

Read more: Brexit day: Boris Johnson to hail ‘dawn of a new era’

The Brexit 50p gold coin is marked with the words, “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations” and the date 31 January 2020.

The Royal Mint put 1,500 on sale today for a cool £995 each. Punters were not put off by the price tag, however, and they sold out in hours.

Those looking to mark the occasion were also drawn to other commemorative coins.

A historic set containing a 50p Brexit piece and the 1973 coin that marked Britain joining what was then the EEC, priced at £30, has also sold out, the Mint said.

Another coin, known as a “strike-on-the-day sovereign” because it was minted today, costing £800, has also been fully reserved.

When Britain leaves the EU tonight, it will bring to a close three years of bitter impasse over the process set in motion when the country voted for Brexit in June 2016.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tonight herald the occasion as “a moment of real national renewal and change”.

However, European leaders today warned in an article in The Times that Britain would lose global influence and power.

Such comments have not dimmed the enthusiasm of Conservative HQ, which has produced a range of merchandise to celebrate the occasion.

A “Got Brexit done” tea towel emblazoned with a picture of Boris Johnson and two union flags costs £12.

Read more: Brexit Day celebrations: How the UK is marking 31 January

More than 3m of the standard 50p Brexit coins will enter circulation today.

But the path has not been easy for the commemorative item. Hundreds of thousands of coins were minted with the previously planned 31 October leaving date. They then had to be melted down when the deadline was missed.

Image credit: HM Treasury