The Penny that’s set to reach £115,000 at Auction

A rare 1933 Penny is set to fetch a world record £115,000 when it goes to auction in a couple of weeks.

There are just seven 1933 pennies in existence making it the rarest British coin of the 20th century. So it’s no surprise that the Penny has already reached bids in excess of  £72,000 online.

There were originally no plans for the Royal Mint to produce any new pennies in 1933 as there were already plenty in circulation. However, following special requests from the King for a commemorative coin to mark that year, seven coins are believed to have been produced.

The coin features the portrait of King George V on the obverse while Britannia features on the reverse.

Three of the pennies were produced for the King in order for him to place them under important buildings that were under construction at the time. Two of the pennies are at the Royal Mint Museum, and another two are on show at the British Museum.

In 1970, during construction at the Church of St. Cross in Leeds, one of the coins was stolen from the Church’s cornerstone. The whereabouts of this coin remains a mystery.

To prevent another penny being stolen, the Bishop of Ripon ordered that the penny should be unearthed and sold. This coin has also been in private hands since 1972. 

The chance to own the rarest British penny of the 20th century is a once in a generation opportunity. The auction will be held in Dallas, Texas on August 11th 2016.

Goodbye to ‘ello ello ello’ at the Royal Mint

Today is the last day that police will guard the grounds of the Royal Mint in Llantrisant.

The 35-acre headquarters have been secured by the Ministry of Defense Police 365 days a year, for nearly 40 years.

The Royal Mint has been guarded by MoD police since it located to Wales in 1968 but the security of the site was reviewed a couple of months ago when the state-of-the-art £7m Visitor Centre opened its doors to the public.

The new private security team of trained guards will take over the responsibility of round the clock security of the Royal Mint from today onwards.

End of MOD

G4S will be the first private sector company to guard the Royal Mint in its 1,130-year history and has confirmed the contract to secure one of Britain’s oldest and most prestigious institutions will last three years with an optional two-year extension.

The team positioned with responsibility of patrolling the grounds 24-hours a day will include highly trained, professional, ex-Gurkha personnel.

 

The Beatrix Potter 50p coins are the clear favourites among Change Checkers

We recently asked you to pick your favourite 2016 Coin design and there is a clear winner…

2016 blog

The Beatrix Potter 50p Series was the clear winner of our poll

Nearly 45% of you have voted for The Beatrix Potter 50p Series as your favourite.

Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated more than 20 children’s books starring characters such as Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck and Benjamin Bunny. Her charming stories have captured the imagination of children for generations and earned her status as a national treasure.

We can see why they’re so popular

The Beatrix Potter 50p Series: Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle and Squirrel Nutkin

The Beatrix Potter 50p Series: Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle and Squirrel Nutkin

Never has a female literary figure been commemorated on a UK coin, so all five Beatrix Potter 50ps are sure to be in high demand once they finally make it into circulation.


When you do find a Beatrix Potter 50p…

Coin Collecting Pack

Why not put it in a special Coin Collecting Pack made just for this series of coins? Click here for details…