Posts by Rachel
The 2020 Dinosaur coins – What we know so far…
2020 is already proving to be a big year for coin collectors, with an exciting line-up of coins already having been released and many more to look forward to.
But certain news was so colossal that it shook the coin collecting community!
The Royal Proclamation on the 8th November 2019 revealed a brand new series of dinosaur themed 50p coins would be released in 2020.
Three dino themed 50ps
Three designs were announced, including the Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hylaeosaurus.
‘Megalosaurus’ is Greek for ‘great lizard’ and at seven to eight metres long it certainly lives up to its name! In 1676 the first Megalosurus bone was discovered in Oxfordshire and publication of the find is thought to make this dinosaur the very first to be described in scientific literature.
Iguanodon were large herbivores with distinctive thumb-like spikes. After Megalosaurus, these were the second type of dinosaur to be formally recognised.
Hylaeosaurus was an armoured dinosaur with at least three long spines along its shoulders. However, much of the anatomy of this dinosaur is still unknown due to the fact that very limited remains have been found.
The UK’s first dinosaur coins
Excitingly, these are the first ever UK dinosaur coins and collectors have been very excited for these roarsome coins to be let loose!
Of course we’ve already seen the release of the 2020 Megalosaurus 50p, which proved a roaring success with collectors, but if you’d like to be kept up to date with all the latest information about the 2020 Dinosaur 50p coins, simply sign up using the form below.
Stay up to date with all the latest 2020 Dinosaur 50p news…
Fill in your details below to be kept up to date with all the latest news about the 2020 Dinosaur coins.
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app
2019 Change Checker Awards
We’re delighted to announce the 2019 Change Checker Awards in association with All About Coins, where we’ll be celebrating the very best of the change collecting world from 2019!
We’re looking for the 2019 Change Checker of the Year and the 2019 Junior Change Checker of the year and we need your help!
Do you know somebody who deserves to be crowned ‘Change Checker of the year’? If so, we’d love to hear why.
Has someone you know completed an epic collection? Do you know somebody who’s gone above and beyond to help other Change Checkers complete their collections? Or have you been introduced to the world of change collecting by another Change Checker?
If you know someone who has been the perfect Change Checker, we want to hear from you.
Send an email outlining why your family or friend[s] deserve to win this coveted award to [email protected].
Alternatively, you can submit your entry using the sign-up form at the bottom of this blog.
Finally, you can leave a comment on any of our social media pages but be sure to use the hashtag #CCAwards2019.
To qualify for Junior Change Checker of the year the application must be aged 16 or younger. The closing date for entries is 5pm on Friday 6th December.
All entries will be judged by our panel and the results announced on Thursday 12th December.
The victorious Change Checker and Junior Change Checker of the year will each win an exclusive Change Checker trophy and a bundle of goodies worth more than £50, including a year’s subscription to Coin Collector magazine!
Categories
The other categories that make up the Change Checker Awards are:
Coin Story of the Year 2019 – judged by our panel
and
UK Coin Design of the Year 2019 – judged by you!
Change Checkers have been voting and the shortlisted results are now in…
Vote for your 2019 Coin Design of the Year from the top three coins listed below:
The winners for all Change Checker Award categories will be announced on the 12th December.
Good Luck!
Submit your Change Checker and/or Junior Change Checker of the Year nomination here:
Terms and Conditions
- The winners will receive an exclusive Change Checker trophy and a bundle of goodies, as well as a year’s subscription to Coin Collector magazine. There is no cash alternative.
- Participants agree to meet reasonable requests to assist publicity.
- The Change Checker Awards 2019 are promoted by The Westminster Collection / Change Checker, trading divisions of 288 Group Ltd.
- Employees of 288 Group and their families are not eligible to enter.
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app
A history of UK Remembrance Day coins
Every year since 1919, on the second Sunday of the 11th month, at the 11th hour, the nation falls silent for two minutes to pay their respects to the brave men and women who have lost their lives in conflict around the world, and for those who continue to safeguard our freedom.
In this blog, we take a look at the history of UK coins issued in tribute.
History of Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day first began as ‘Armistice Day’ in Great Britain on the 11th November 1919, in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the peace agreement that ended the First World War.
After the conclusion of WWII in 1945, the British government wanted to honour those who fought in the World Wars and decided to replace Armistice Day with a new Sunday observance, which thereafter was known as Remembrance Sunday.
UK Remembrance Coins
2017
In 2017, The Royal Mint released the first official UK Remembrance Day £5 coin, designed by Stephen Taylor to honour the fallen and ensure their stories live on through the generations.
Traditionally, Remembrance Day £5 coins were produced by The Royal Mint on behalf of Alderney and would therefore have been Alderney tender, however 2017 marked the first time this important anniversary was commemorated on a UK coin.
2018
In 2018 The Royal Mint released their second Brilliant Uncirculated Remembrance £5 coin to honour the sacrifices of all those who have risked, and continue to risk, their lives to protect our freedom.
This £5 coin features a design by Laura Clancy, including vibrant red selected colour printing, symbolic of the resilient and determined poppies that grew amidst the destruction in the valley of the Somme.
2019
Another UK £5 was released in 2019, featuring a design by artist Harry Brockway, incorporating the famous lines from ‘For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon.
The intricate design has selected colour-printing highlighting a red poppy – the recognised symbol of Remembrance to honour those who have fought.
The use of selected colour printing is normally reserved for Proof quality coins, which makes the Remembrance Day £5 coins particularly special.
2020
The 2020 UK Remembrance £5 coin was issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ceremonial burial of the Unknown Warrior – the unidentifiable British soldier who was brought home from France in 1920 for ceremonial burial in honour of all those lost in the First World War.
Natasha Preece’s design of this coin pays dedication to the Unknown Warrior, with a silhouette of a sombre soldier with head hung low in reflection, set on a sea of poppies.
This very poignant £5 coin also features selected colour printing, highlighting the details of the poppies and accentuating the silhouette of the warrior.
2021
The most recent Remembrance Day £5 coin was issued in 2021 and features ae design by Gary Breeze, which includes an inscription of the 4th stanza of Laurence Binyon’s famous poem, ‘For the Fallen’.
It is one of the most widely quoted poems from the First World War and has since been claimed as a tribute to all casualties of war. Breeze’s poignant design features a special incised design with marks to replicate the effect of a war memorial.
UK coins commemorating wartime
The Remembrance £5 coins are a poignant tribute to those who fought and lost their lives in the World Wars, and The Royal Mint have also issued a number of other wartime themed UK coins.
From 2014-2018, The Royal Mint issued a series of commemorative £2 coins to commemorate the wartime journey of the First World War from outbreak to armistice.
2014
The first coin in the series was the 2014 Kitchener £2 which featured John Bergdahl’s depiction of Lord Kitchener’s famous call to arms, alongside the words ‘YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU’.
Kitchener was a British military leader and Secretary of State for War in the first years of the First World War. Unlike many others in the Government and the military, Kitchener foresaw a war lasting for years and he planned accordingly. He rapidly enlisted and trained huge numbers of volunteers for a succession of entirely new ‘Kitchener armies’. It was this enlistment campaign that coined the now famous phrase that appears on the reverse of this £2 coin.
5,720,000 of these coins entered circulation in 2014.
2015
The second £2 coin in the Royal Mint’s five year programme to commemorate the centenary of the First World War pays tribute to the Royal Navy.
Renowned military artist David Rowlands designed the reverse of this coin, and it features a battleship approaching on the open sea, paying homage to the British fleet that defended coastal waters against the Germans. At the time, The Royal Navy was by far the most powerful navy in the world. The British economic blockade of Germany, afforded by the Royal Navy’s command of the sea, inflicted great damage on the war effort of Germany.
650,000 of these coins entered circulation in 2015, making it the third rarest £2 coin currently in circulation.
2016
In 2016, the third issue of the First World War Centenary series commemorated the role of the Army.
Tim Sharp’s design marks a poignant moment in military history, honouring the ‘Pals Battalions’. As part of Lord Kitchener’s New Armies, it was realized that many more men would enlist if they could serve alongside their friends, relatives and workmates. This encouraged the coining of the term ‘Pals battalions.’ On 21 August 1914, the first Pals battalion was raised and in a matter of days, 1,600 men had joined what became the 10th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers.
9,550,000 of these coins entered circulation in 2016.
2017
The fourth £2 coin in The Royal Mint Centenary of the First World War series paid tribute to the aviators of the First World War.
As technology developed, air combat became an innovative form of warfare. Fighter pilots were portrayed as noble gentleman duelists in the skies above the horror of the trenches. The edge lettering of this coin pays tribute to the first aviators to sacrifice their lives in ‘The War in the Air’ and the reverse design by Dan Flashman shows an aircraft from birds-eye view with land in the background.
This coin has not entered circulation.
2018
In 2018, The Royal Mint issued their final commemorative £2 coin in their Centenary of the First World War series. This coin commemorated the 100th anniversary of Armistice.
Armistice marked the signing of agreements to end of the First World War and the victory of the allies on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918. The reverse of the coin was designed by Stephen Raw and features the words ‘The truth untold, the pity of war’ from the Wilfred Owen poem ‘Strange Meeting’.
This coin has not entered circulation.
Today, these coins act as a reminder of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and fought for our freedom and encourage the younger generations to learn about our country’s history.