Royal Mint Launches Coin-Based Treasure Hunt with Gold Prize

The Royal Mint has launched "The Great British Treasure Hunt," a nationwide codebreaking challenge centered on a new commemorative £5 coin, offering UK participants a chance to win a 250-gram solid gold bar valued at approximately £28,000 to £30,000 based on current market prices. Unveiled at the Science Museum in London on Thursday, the initiative blends puzzle-solving with numismatics, drawing inspiration from Sir Isaac Newton, the 17th-century scientist and former Master of the Mint.

The challenge consists of five progressively complex levels of riddles, symbols, and cryptographic clues embedded in the coin, known as "The Penny Drops," and its packaging. The coin features intricate designs including numbers, letters, a compass, and a diagram of planetary alignments, which participants must study, handle, and align to unlock secrets. The first level, titled "Uniting the Shield," is free and accessible immediately via a dedicated microsite on the Royal Mint's website. It requires everyday coins from a wallet or purse to solve a riddle revealing a six-letter password, such as arranging fragments to form a shield and extract letters guided by arrows.