Savers rush to offload gold as price hits all-time high
Despite rushing to the safe haven asset during the geopolitical uncertainty of recent years, pushing prices to record highs of more than £2,600 in April, more investors than ever are choosing to offload the asset.
The value of the gold bullion coins sold back to the Royal Mint increased by 55pc year on year between April and June, resulting in significant gains for investors.
One investor made £70,000, having bought capital gains tax-free gold coins in October 2024, when the price was £1,972.40 and sold in June 2025, when gold was valued at £2,447.74.
Investors increased their selling across all precious metals offered by the Royal Mint, with more individuals than ever also offloading their silver and platinum.
The Royal Mint buys back gold bullion coins at 96pc of the live gold price, according to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), and will buy back the silver and platinum it offers for 90pc of the price at the time of the sale.
However, purchases of bullion coins in gold, silver and platinum were also buoyant, raking in the second-highest quarterly revenue ever for the Royal Mint, and more than double that in the same period in 2024.
Gold, silver and platinum bullion coins produced by the Royal Mint are exempt from capital gains tax for UK residents as they are considered legal tender, while gold coins also benefit from VAT exemption.
It was not only gold that had a record quarter performance. Silver prices rose above £27 per ounce for the first time since 2011, with sales increasing 51pc in the first quarter compared to the same time in 2024. Platinum sales also increased by 188pc.
Stuart O'Reilly, of the Royal Mint, said: 'This quarter demonstrated a remarkable evolution in UK precious metals investing. We're seeing strategic behaviour from investors to rebalance portfolios and rotate into silver and platinum.'
The Royal Mint confirmed to The Telegraph that a record number of investors had sold their gold, silver and platinum back to the company, but could not comment on the specific figures.
Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault, explained that gold sales have been on the rise for a while. He said that between the summer of 2023 and March this year, investors using the platform sold more than they bought every quarter.
Russ Mould, of AJ Bell, said: 'Gold bugs will see this as the way to further currency debasement, and the road to more money printing to render the debt even vaguely manageable.
'Others may at least think about a portfolio rebalancing to ensure they do not become over-exposed to the metal, if they already have some.'
The Telegraph reported in April that one savvy investor had made almost £100,000 in just seven days, after buying $2m (£1.48m) worth of gold bullion from a mobile app.
The anonymous investor purchased 20.44kg of gold on April 7, when the commodity was priced at $3,043 an ounce.
A week later, the price of the precious metal had soared to $3,229 an ounce, meaning their $2m investment was now worth an extra $122,232.
However, the high prices could push gold out of reach for the average investor. Analysis of US Federal Reserve data by AJ Bell earlier this month found that the average US worker would need to work for 105 hours to buy one ounce of gold – more than two weeks' labour.
This compares to just 12 hours in the early 1970s, before Richard Nixon broke up the Bretton Woods agreement that pegged the US dollar to the precious metal.
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