Mint’s £300k gold coins tip scales at 5kg
HEAVY Una & Lion design
ROYAL Mint experts have produced four 5kg gold coins worth £300,000 each as part of a 750-year-old quality-control test.
The ceremonial “£5,000” coins, with a real-world value 60 times greater, will go through the Trial of the Pyx, which dates to 1284.
Experts at the Goldsmiths’ Company drill into them to analyse their chemical composition.
Graeme Smith, from the Mint, said it “confirms the quality of each coin”.
Simon Hutchinson, of the Goldsmiths’ Company, added: “For as long as we value coins, the trial will remain relevant.”
Three of the 17.5cm wide Una and The Lion design coins will be tested before being melted down.
The fourth has been sold off privately.
With fellow judge Rita Ora on The Masked Singer
DAVINA McCall is laying permanent foundations for life as a single mum – by building a house for her and her kids.
When The Masked Singer judge, 52, split from husband Matthew Robertson in 2017, they sold the family home.
And after living in rented accommodation she is starting the Grand Designsstyle project for her and children Holly, 18, Tilly, 16, and Chester, 13.
Davina said: “I’m building a house! My kids and I were trying to find a plot of land. So we’re doing it together.
“This year is going to be stressful, but fun – a house we’ve all built and everyone gets to choose how they want their bedrooms.
“We’re unbelievably lucky. It was tough for the kids after we sold our house, so it’s nice to say, ‘fresh house, fresh start’.”
Davina and Matthew tied the knot in 2000, having met that year as she shot to fame hosting Big Brother.
They renewed their vows in 2015, two years before the marriage ended.
At the time she said: “I am very sad. Our children are our number one priority.”
■ Read the full interview in the March edition of woman&home magazine, on sale from Thursday.
Davina and Matthew before split