Posts by Change Checker
How Gordon Brown saved the UK from a “Finnish Coin Disaster”
Less than 24 hours after the designs were unveiled, The Mint of Finland have scrapped designs for a program of coins marking the nation’s independence centennial.
The coin caused uproar on social media after the design, which appeared to show an execution during the Finnish Civil War, was released to the public.
The Mint of Finland scrapped designs for a program of coins marking the nation’s centennial after an uproar over this coin image showing an execution during the Finnish Civil War. Image credit: Coin World
The coins were due to be put on sale on 4th May, but the Communications Director for the Mint of Finland confirmed that no coins had been struck.
The Mint of Finland said that it “deeply regrets all the bad feeling caused by the images in the collector coin series.”
And a similar coin design disaster could have happened in the UK.
The Victoria Cross 50p that was ordered to be redesigned
Back in 2005, Gordon Brown (Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time) ordered a 50p coin commemorating the Victoria Cross be redesigned because it appeared to show a British soldier being shot in the back.
The original version of this design for the 150th Anniversary of the VC was reportedly personally vetoed by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown as it appeared to show a soldier being shot in the back.
The 50p coin was issued to mark 150 years of the famous Victoria Cross medal, which is the highest honour for gallantry which can be given to British and Commonwealth forces. However, the original design reportedly depicted a soldier carrying a wounded comrade, apparently in the sights of an enemy sniper.
A letter from the Chancellor’s aides to The Royal Mint said: “He (Mr. Brown) appreciates the designer’s attempt to portray the courage and selflessness of the British soldier carrying a wounded comrade while under fire. But he feels that the particular image of a British soldier apparently about to be shot in the back will not seem appropriate to many people.”
The ‘Heroic Acts’ 50p coin was designed by sculptor Clive Duncan to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross in 2006 along with another 50p designed by Claire Aldridge.
The new £5 note has a major grammar blunder…But have you spotted it?
The Bank of England has been accused of “dumbing down” after choosing to remove punctuation from a quote by Sir Winston Churchill printed on the new polymer £5 notes.
The original concept image for the new polymer £5 notes correctly included double quotation marks around the former prime minister’s famous saying: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
The Bank of England’s original concept design for the new £5 note included double quotation marks around Winston Churchill’s words CREDIT: Bank of England.
However the final £5 note design that was released into circulation does not include the quotation marks or full stop.
The new polymer fiver does not include quotation marks or a full stop.
The new Polymer £5 notes were issued in September and there are now around 400 million in circulation. You can find out everything you need to know about the polymer fiver here.
According to the Bank of England, the demand for cash continues to grow and the new polymer banknotes will shape the usage of cash in the future.
Did you know the new polymer banknotes are:
2017 marks 200 years since the death of Jane Austen – one of the best-loved English novelists of all time. And to celebrate such an inspirational female figure, the Bank of England have chosen to honour her on a brand new banknote.
The brand new £10 polymer banknote is due to be issued in September 2017 and you can find out more about the design here!
Rumours of fake £1 coins denied by Royal Mint
The Royal Mint has denied claims that there are already counterfeit 12-Sided £1 coins in circulation after a charity worker pointed out discrepancies between two coins.
Roy Wright, a charity worker from Surrey, was shocked when he noticed a few subtle differences between the two £1 coins, leading him to believe he had found the ‘first fake £1 coin’.
Impossible to counterfeit
Despite the new £1 coins being designed to be ‘impossible to counterfeit’, Mr Wright suggested that coin he had was heavier, had no hologram and the Queen’s head was positioned more to the left. Not only that, the edges were more rounded and there was no detail on the head of the thistle.
A genuine coin with a production fault…
Whilst the story has caused some excitement in the press and The Royal Mint has not yet been able to examine the offending coin, they are confident it is not a fake, but instead a genuine coin with a production fault.
Despite tight quality controls being in place, The Royal Mint has said that variances are likely to occur during the striking process in a small numbers of coins. Whilst such mis-strikes are relatively unusual and can be numismatically interesting, they are not the same as genuine errors.
Rumours of a genuine error in circulation
Unconfirmed rumours have also been circulating about some new £1 coins featuring two dates. There are reports of some coins having 2016 on the obverse and 2017 engraved in the micro lettering of the reverse.
Although, we are yet to see an example, if this is true, it would have to be the result of mis-matched 2016 and 2017 dies being used during production – a genuine error or “mule”.
You may need a magnifying glass to check if your £1 coin has a mixed die error.
Of course, it was the use of an incorrect die that resulted in the most famous modern “error” – the “undated 20p coin“, now regarded by many as the Holy Grail of change collecting. You can read more about the story of the undated 20p here.
If you’ve #foundapound in your change, have you spotted anything strange about it?