Posts by Kate
Is your 20p coin worth hundreds?
You might want to double check the 20p coins in your change, as one of them just might be worth 6,800 times its face value! A rare 25p coin which made its way into one man’s change in Wiltshire several years ago was put up for auction on 25th September 2024, and sold for a whopping £1,700!
Image Credit: RWB Auctions https://www.rwbauctions.com/
What is a 25p coin?
It’s thought that the 25p coin was made as a trial coin by The Royal Mint before the 20p denomination was official released into circulation in 1982. It’s not known exactly how many of these coins were produced, however experts say that there is likely no more than 50 in circulation. This makes it even rarer than the undated 20p, considered by many as the ‘holy grail’ of change collecting.
In terms of shape, the 25p coin looks almost identical to a normal 20p coin, but look a little closer and you’ll see it features a different design. A shield can be seen on one side with the inscription ‘EXPERIMENTAL COIN’ and the year 1981, and the Sovereign’s Orb on the other with the inscription ‘ROYAL MINT TRIAL’.
Trial pieces like these that are sometimes known as ‘pattern coins’, are extremely rare and the chances of one making its way into circulation is even rarer. This makes them incredibly sought after by collectors, especially as this one can be so easily mistaken for an ordinary 20p coin.
Worth a small fortune
This particular 25p coin was listed as part of a specialist sale of historic and modern currency organised by RWB Auctions.
Due to its rarity, experts estimated that the 25p coin would fetch between £500 and £700 at auction, however it actually ended up selling for £1,700 – that’s 6,800 times its face value!
The auction house has previously sold rare coins for huge sums of money, including a scarce Lord Kitchener £2 for £1,000 and a rare 2009 Olympic Athletics 50p for £1,500.
Just 100,000 special edition Blue Peter coin packs were released with the 2009 dated Olympic Athletics coin – making it the only Olympic 50p without a 2011 date
Find out more about the coins in your pocket
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The designers behind the faces on our coins
In the last century, there have been 9 different designers who have created the effigies of monarchs that feature on UK and Commonwealth coin obverses.
The most recent change in designer came after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, when the baton was passed from Jody Clark to Martin Jennings to create the UK coinage portrait of King Charles III.
Let’s look back at those who designed the portraits that feature on every coin in our pockets…
George William de Saulles
Credit: Look and Learn.
George William de Saulles worked at The Royal Mint from 1892 as ‘Engraver to the Mint’, engraving the dies for what would become known as the ‘Old Head’ or ‘Widowed Head’ coinage of 1893, featuring a portrait of Queen Victoria. de Saulles went on to design the obverse portrait of Edward VII, used on UK coins from 1902 until the end of his reign in 1910.
Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
When George V became King in 1910, Australian born sculptor Bertram Mackennal was responsible for the design on the coronation medal, the obverse of UK currency, postage stamps and military honours for King George V.
Mackennal was also commissioned to produce several monuments and statues around the world, including his home country of Australia, India and Scotland. He was appointed M.V.O. in 1912 and knighted in 1921, making him the first Australian-born artist to be so honoured.
(Thomas) Humphrey Paget
Credit: Royal Mint Museum
Humphrey Paget designed the effigy for King Edward VIII, however due to his short reign and abdication, Paget’s designs never reached the minting stage. Some trial pieces did find their way out of the mint for testing purposes, and these are thought to be some of the most rare and collectible pieces of all sterling coinage.
Mary Gillick
Credit: Royal Mint Museum
Mary Gillick was the first artist to design a Queen Elizabeth II portrait, and remains the only female designer of UK coinage obverse effigies. Her portrait, used on UK coinage between 1953 and 1970, shows Her Majesty uncrowned and was the last to be used on pre-decimal coinage.
Arnold Machin
Credit: Royal Mint Museum
Arnold Machin designed the royal portrait which featured on the first UK decimal coins from 1968 to 1984. He also created the reverse design of the 1972 Silver Wedding Crown, the obverse and reverse of the 1977 Silver Jubilee Crown and the royal portrait which appeared on definitive British stamps between 1967 and 2023.
As well as designing UK coinage and stamps, Arnold Machin’s designs were also used on coins in Rhodesia in 1964, Canada between 1965-1889, Australia between 1966-1984 and New Zealand in 1967-1985.
Raphael Maklouf
Credit: Tower Mint
In 1982, The Royal Mint asked 17 artists to submit models of Queen Elizabeth II to be considered a replacement for Arnold Machin’s then-outdated likeness of the Queen on UK and Commonwealth coinage. The Royal Mint Advisory Committee selected Israeli-born British sculptor Raphael Maklouf’s design, now known as the ‘Third Portrait’ to take over, and it featured on UK and Commonwealth coins until from 1985 until 1997.
Ian Rank-Broadley
Credit: Tatler
Ian Rank-Broadley won The Royal Mint’s competition to design a new Queen Elizabeth II effigy in 1997, making him the designer of the ‘Forth Portrait’. Rank-Broadley was influenced by Pistrucci’s portrait of George III which was issued in 1817, where the head crowds the field of the coin. His portrait featured on UK and Commonwealth coinage between 1998 and 2015.
Jody Clark
Credit: The Mirror
In 2015, Jody Clark’s submission to a design competition was chosen to become the fifth coin portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. At 33 years old, he was the youngest designer to have designed a portrait for British coinage. He was also the first designer to use computer-aided design software when creating his portrait. Despite the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, Clark’s portrait continues to feature on the UK coins featuring Her Majesty which currently co-circulate with new King Charles III coins.
Martin Jennings
Credit: The Royal Mint
Martin Jennings is a British sculptor renowned for his public sculptures across the UK. His most notable and admired works include statues of prominent writers and poets, such as John Betjeman at St Pancras Station and Charles Dickens in Guildhall Square, Portsmouth.
The Royal Mint commissioned Jennings to design the first definitive coinage portrait of King Charles III in 2022 which features on all new UK King Charles III commemorative and definitive coins. Jennings also created a special crowned effigy version of the UK Coronation 50p and £5 which is only available on the collector editions of these coins, setting it apart from the Coronation 50ps you can find in your change.
Find out more about your coins
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Change Checker LIVE 50p Swap is coming to Cardiff Comic Con!
We’re extremely excited to announce that we’re bringing our Change Checker Live 50p Swap to Cardiff Comic Con!
Join us on Saturday 19th October and Sunday 20th October at Cardiff Comic Con in the Utilita Arena where we’ll be giving collectors the chance to swap ANY UK 50p coin for a brand new Brilliant Uncirculated UK 50p.
Usually, collectors only get the chance to swap their coins for one new coin design at our live swap events, however this time is a bit different…
We’re pitting two extremely popular 50p series against each other and giving you the choice of either a Star Wars™ Character Duo 50p OR a Star Wars™ Spacecraft 50p!
Our Brilliant Uncirculated UK 50ps will usually set you back £5.99, plus postage – so this is your chance to get your hands on one in superior collector quality for just face value!
We’ll be taking 1,600 coins with us to swap over the weekend – half made from a mix of Star Wars™ Character Duo 50ps and the other half a mix of Star Wars™ Spacecraft 50ps – but which series will prove most popular?
Which 50p series would you chose?
At Change Checker HQ, we’ve been having quite the debate about which of these Star Wars™ series is the best, and to settle the argument once and for all, we need your help!
If you come to see us at the show, you’ll get the choice to swap your 50p for either a Star Wars™ Character Duo 50p OR a Star Wars™ Spacecraft 50p, and once you’ve made your decision, we’ll ask you to vote by placing a token in our voting tubes.
And if you’re not coming, don’t worry – we’ll be sharing the vote results at regular intervals on our social media channels, so make sure you stay tuned to keep up to date!
Cardiff Comic Con
Comic Con is a fan convention where attendees celebrate films, cult television series, video games, anime, cosplay and comic books. Cardiff Comic Con boasts around 6,000 guests each year, with some of the biggest names in the pop culture industry attending.
Credit: filmandcomicconcardiff.com
Find out more about what’s going on at this year’s Cardiff Comic Con here >>
FAQs
Where can I find you at the show?
Our exact location at the show is yet to be confirmed, but we’ll update this blog as soon as we know more information.
How many coins can I swap?
Such is the popularity of our Live Coin Swaps, and to ensure it’s fair for everybody, we’re limiting the number of swaps to strictly 1 swap per person.
Can I reserve a coin before I arrive?
To ensure a fair swap event for everyone, we do not offer reservations of coins. It is a strictly first come first served basis.
Will you have other coins with you at the show?
As well as the coins for swapping, we’ll have each of the 8 Star Wars™ 50p coins available to buy, along with some other coins we think collectors will enjoy.
Where can I buy tickets for the show?
You can buy tickets on the Cardiff Comic Con website >>
Can’t make it?
Whilst we hope to see you at our Live Swap, if you’re unable to come along, you can still secure these coins for your collection in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
