BigBen has been sold for £100 - or at least the commemorative coins created by the Royal Mint have.

All 50,000 of the first ever £100 for £100 silver coin have been snapped up within days of their release by The Royal Mint at Llantrisant.

Some of the coins had already found their way onto auction website eBay, with prices of up to £999.

Laura Clancy and Glyn Davies, the Royal Mint's in house engravers were responsible for designing the image for the coin.

It is the third such commemorative coin to be released after the £20 and £5 coins which celebrated the birth and first birthday of Prince Georgeof Cambridge.

Director of Commemorative Coin and Medals, Shane Bissett, said: "The sound of Big Ben chiming in the Elizabeth Tower is one which is synonymouswith Britain for millions of British citizens and tourists alike, particularly on New Year's Eve.

"We thought that this British icon was a fitting choice for the nation's first £100 for £100 coin, and that the New Year would be a fitting timeto reveal it.

"We have been thrilled with the fantastic feedback and unprecedented interest from our customers and the UK general public."

On New Year's Day they announced coins produced this year will represent "a snapshot of Britain through time" marking some of the UK's historicevents - from the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta being issued by King John, to the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain when outnumberedallied air crews fought off Hitler's Luftwaffe.

To read the complete article, see:
All 50,000 of the Royal Mint's new £100 coins have soldout with some already appearing on Ebay (www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/50000-new-100-coins-sold-8433243)

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
ROYAL MINT MAKES BIG BEN £100 COIN (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n01a19.html)
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JANUARY 11, 2015 : More on the Big Ben Coin Design(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n02a09.html)