50p Coins
Winnie the Pooh 50p series – What we know so far…
“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart” said Winnie the Pooh.
Well, it seems this silly old bear is right once more, as Change Checker has just heard that a brand new Winnie the Pooh 50p coin series is set to be released this year, and the news has already taken up all of the room in our hearts!
*** UPDATE ***
It has been confirmed that the BRAND NEW Winnie the Pooh 50p will be released Wednesday 23rd September!
Remember to sign-up for updates using the form at the bottom of this blog to stay up to date.
As of the Royal Proclamation on 24th July 2020, a series of 50p designs, inspired by the classic stories of A.A. Milne, will be issued to celebrate one of the world’s most-loved bears and his friends.
It has been confirmed that there will be three 50p coins issued. The first will feature Winnie the Pooh himself and then later, a Christopher Robin 50p, and a Piglet 50p.
Originally published in 1926, Winnie the Pooh is a story about the adventures of Christopher Robin’s honey-loving teddy bear and his friends Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Owl, Kanger, and Rabbit.
Since then, Winnie the Pooh has featured in over 11 films, 11 television programmes, 4 different books, and has become a worldwide collectable item.
Whilst the designs of the upcoming 50p coins are currently top-secret, we can’t wait to see this loveable bear, his loving owner Christopher Robin and adorable friend Piglet, come to life once more, this time on the UK’s most collected coin.
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Innovation in Science series continues, as Rosalind Franklin becomes first female scientist celebrated on a UK coin!
In the year that would have marked her 100th birthday, The Royal Mint have released a brand new 50p celebrating the life and crucial work of Rosalind Franklin.
2020 UK Rosalind Franklin 50p
David Knapton’s striking design of this coin, features a depiction of Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray, ‘Photograph 51’, which revealed the helical structure of DNA, in her laboratory at King’s College, London
This really is a coin full of numismatic firsts, as this is the first time that Franklin’s DNA story has featured on a UK coin, and it is also the very first time a female scientist has featured on a UK coin too!
Developed in collaboration with King’s College, London, this coin is available in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for just £4.50 (+p&p). [link]
The Story Behind The Scientist
One of Britain’s greatest scientists, Franklin made a crucial finding to the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA, yet her contribution was little known.
Applying X-ray diffraction methods to the study of DNA, enabled Franklin to discover the helical conformation of the molecule, in a photograph called, ‘Photograph 51’. This work laid the foundations for James Watson and Francis Crick to later establish that the structure of DNA was in fact a double-helix polymer (a spiral consisting of two DNA strands).
Tragically, at the age of just 37, Franklin passed away from ovarian cancer, robbing her of the same awards and recognitions that her colleagues were gifted.
To mark what would have been a very special birthday, this brand new 50p restores Franklin’s rightful legacy, and celebrates her significant role in the discovery of DNA, as she becomes The Royal Mint’s second Innovator in Science.
However, this brand new Rosalind Franklin 50p isn’t the only UK coin to celebrate great British scientists… it’s the second release in The Royal Mint’s Innovation in Science series!
2019 Stephen Hawking 50p
In 2019, less than a year since his death, The Royal Mint released a Stephen Hawking 50p coin, honouring his works as one of the most influential physicists of the modern age.
He became the very first person to be celebrated in The Royal Mint’s Innovation in Science series and only the third person to be commemorated on a coin within a year of their death (the others being Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother!)
The reverse of the coin, designed by Edwina Ellis, features a stylised black hole and the inscription ‘Stephen Hawking’ . It also shows the Bekenstein-Hawking formula, which describes the thermodynamic entropy of a black hole!
There are a number of other UK 50p and £2 coins of a similar theme which you can look out for in your change…
2003 DNA £2
In 2003, to mark the 50th anniversary of James Watson and Francis Crick‘s discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA, The Royal Mint issued this £2 coin.
As we mentioned above, had Rosalind Franklin not discovered the helical conformation of DNA, Watson and Crick may never have established it’s double-helix structure!
They found a twisted strand of deoxyribonucleic acid, intertwined in such a way that they could pull apart, replicate themselves, and pass their genetic code from old cells to new.
The coin’s design pays tribute to this ‘double-helix’ structure and has a mintage of 4,299,000.
2017 Isaac Newton 50p
Sir Isaac Newton is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and a key figure in the scientific revolution.
He changed our understanding of mathematics and physics, redefined the way we see the world and shaped the security of our currency in his role as Master of the Mint.
Designed by Aaron West, this 50p coin was issued to commemorate the achievements of Sir Isaac Newton and it remembers the legacy he left.
It has a circulating mintage of just 1,801,500.
2009 Darwin £2
In 2009, The Royal Mint celebrated 200 years since Charles Darwin’s birth and 150 years since the publication of ‘On the Origin of Species’ by issuing this £2 coin. It has a circulating mintage of 3,903,000.
Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history and was known as the ‘father of evolution’.
At the time of publication in 1859, his book was extremely controversial as it made it seem possible that humans evolved from apes, which contradicted the widely held Orthodox Church theory of creation!
2001 Wireless Transmission £2
In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian physicist, succeeded in sending the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean, disproving theories that the curvature of the earth would limit the transmission to 200 miles or less.
The message – simply containing the Morse code signal for the letter ‘s’ – travelled more than 2,000 miles from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland in Canada and won him worldwide fame and a Nobel Prize in physics in 1909.
In 2001, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first wireless transmission, The Royal Mint issued this £2 coin. It entered circulation and has a mintage of 4,558,000.
We’re so excited by this brand new 50p release and we can’t wait to find out who else will feature in the Innovation in Science series!
Who do you think should be chosen to be featured alongside Stephen Hawking and Rosalind Franklin?
Secure the BRAND NEW Rosalind Franklin 50p for just £4.50 (+p&p)
The Rosalind Franklin 50p – What we know so far…
Did you know that a Rosalind Franklin 50p will be released this year?
The Royal Proclamation from the 12th of March 2020 confirmed that a 50p will be released in 2020 celebrating the life and achievements of British scientist, Rosalind Franklin – and you can now sign up for updates!
The news comes after the worldwide popularity of the 2019 Stephen Hawking 50p, which was the first coin in the Innovators of Science series.
Whilst it hasn’t been confirmed, we can assume the Rosalind Franklin 50p will be the next in the series and we’re sure it’ll spark up chemistry with collectors.
The 50p is said to feature the inscription ‘ROSALIND FRANKLIN DNA’ and ‘PHOTOGRAPH 51’.
Rosalind Franklin was a British chemist and X-Ray crystallographer whose work was central to the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA.
The inscription ‘PHOTOGRAPH 51’ references the x-ray diffraction image of DNA that Raymond Gosling took under the supervision of Franklin. This was the very photo that led Watson and Crick to believe the structure of DNA was a double-helix.
Although all the details have not been released yet and the actual design is still top secret, it seems likely that the Rosalind Franklin 50p coin will be hugely popular with the British public.
Sign up for Rosalind Franklin 50p news
If you’d like to find out more, you can fill in our sign-up form below to stay up-to-date with all the latest news about this release.
Who else would you like to see featured in the Innovation in Science 50p series? Let us know in the comments below.
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