A NEW coin honouring the late Queen Elizabeth II is believed to be the most valuable of all time.

The coin, made with almost 4kg of gold and more than 6,400 diamonds, has been valued at around £18.5million.

The world record for the most expensive coin is £15.17million, paid for a rare "double eagle" gold coin at auction in 2021.

Produced by the East India Company, the coin has been launched to mark the one year anniversary of the Queen’s death.

It has been described as a “labour of love” by the company.

The Queen's life in pictures

Sanjiv Mehta, CEO of The East India Company said: “For seventy years, during a period of great change in Britain, the Commonwealth and internationally, Queen Elizabeth II loyally carried out her duties as Sovereign, Head of State, and Ambassador of the principles of loyalty, freedom, friendship and peace.

“Queen Elizabeth II was an inspiration for many generations, embodying the virtues which guided her through the past seven decades and which are celebrated in this rare and exceptional tribute.

“I had the idea to embark on a mission to include all British citizens as well as all those fascinated and engrossed by Queen Elizabeth II and the history of Britain in an inclusive way to share in her achievement.

“As Queen and Monarch of the British Empire for 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II’s reign remains unrivalled in modern times and incomparable to that of any Sovereign in the history of Great Britain and such likely never to occur in the generations to come.”

Royal Mint rarest coins from Queen Elizabeth II’s reign

Here is a list of rare coins compiled by the Royal Mint, with information about the year of release, denomination, design features and whether or not the coin is still in circulation:

  • 2019, 10p, a set of “A to Z” coins celebrating Britain. Letters Y, W and Z each had a mintage of 63,000, yes.
  • 2019, 10p, also from the A to Z collection, the letter R had a mintage of 64,000, yes.
  • 2019, 10p, all other letters in the A to Z collection had a mintage of 84,000, yes.
  • 1992-1993, 50p, the coin celebrated the UK’s presidency of the Council of Ministers and the completion of the European single market. The design included a representation of a table with 12 stars, linked by a network of lines and the mintage was 109,000. The Mint said this was the lowest number of its 50ps issued into circulation, no.
  • 2009, 50p, the design features the Kew Gardens pagoda with a decorative leafy climber twining in and around the tower, 210,000, yes.
  • 2018 dated, 10p, the A to Z 10p collection celebrating Britain, each letter in this year had a mintage of 220,000, yes.
  • 2015, £2, this coin paid tribute to the Royal Navy and its role during the First World War, and had a mintage of 650,000, yes.
  • 2015, £2, it featured Britannia for the first time on a circulating £2 coin, with a mintage of 650,000, yes.
  • 1985, 50p, the coin featured a figure of Britannia, with a shield, with a mintage of 682,103, no.
  • 2002, £2, four £2 coins celebrating each home nation for the Commonwealth Games. Mintage figures for Scotland were 771,750, for Wales, 588,500, for Ireland, 485,500, and for England 650,500, yes.
  • 2012, £2, the coin celebrated the closing of the 2012 Olympics and had a mintage of 845,000, yes
  • 2008, £2, the coin marked the centenary of the Olympic Games, with mintage of 910,000, yes.
  • 2008, £2, the coin marked the end of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, with a mintage of 918,000, yes.
  • 2011, £2, the coin commemorated 400 years since the King James Bible was published, with a mintage of 975,000, yes.
  • 2018, 50p, a series of coins celebrated Beatrix Potter’s classic tales, with a mintage of 1,400,000 each for the Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny designs, yes.
  • 2011, 50p, a series of coins celebrating the London 2012 Olympics. Mintages included 1,454,000 for tennis, 1,161,500 for judo and 1,129,500 for wrestling, yes.
  • 2010-2011, £1, a series of round pound coins featuring official badges of capital cities in the UK. They had mintages of 935,000 for Edinburgh, 2,635,000 for London and 1,615,000 for Cardiff, no.
  • 2008, £1,  the round pound coin featured the UK’s Royal Arms, with a mintage of 3,910,000, no.