> [sovereigns] are exempt from VAT and capital gains tax
This is a weird corner of UK tax law. If you buy gold bars and sell them at a profit you have to pay tax on the gains. If you buy and sell the equivalent weight of sovereigns there is no tax to pay, because they're just currency. Buying and selling gold coins in general (like Krugerrands that were not produced by the Royal Mint) attracts tax. Then there are coins which used to be legal tender but are no longer (pre-1837 sovereigns) which have a separate exemption from tax, unless they're a "set" of such coins where there is a different limit.
Absolutely - loads of companies (including the Royal Mint) sell them online. Prices seem to vary depending on whether the issue is collectable or not. If you're not fussed about buying something collectable but just want the best price, the mark-ups seem to be around 5% over the price of gold. Note that as well as not having to pay capital gains tax on profits, you don't pay any VAT [like a sales tax] on the sale either. This is very unusual - almost no other non-essential item is zero-rated for VAT.
This is a weird corner of UK tax law. If you buy gold bars and sell them at a profit you have to pay tax on the gains. If you buy and sell the equivalent weight of sovereigns there is no tax to pay, because they're just currency. Buying and selling gold coins in general (like Krugerrands that were not produced by the Royal Mint) attracts tax. Then there are coins which used to be legal tender but are no longer (pre-1837 sovereigns) which have a separate exemption from tax, unless they're a "set" of such coins where there is a different limit.
(Not legal advice!)