General info
Stir Up Sunday – the story behind the numismatic Christmas tradition
There are countless coins thought to be lucky, but there’s one lucky coin in particular which comes to my mind at this time of year…
The much-loved lucky Sixpence has been a part of Christmas traditions for generations and as this weekend marks ‘Stir-up Sunday’, we take a look back at the tradition that harks back to Victorian times.
Christmas tradition
Stir Up Sunday is celebrated five weeks before Christmas Day, when the whole family would gather together to stir the Christmas pudding and make a special wish for the year ahead.
The Christmas pudding itself is said to have been introduced to Britain by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria and traditionally, when making the pudding, a sixpence would be added to the mix.
This was said to bring wealth and good fortune in the coming year if you found the coin in your portion on Christmas day.
It’s no surprise that collectors love these coins so much. The 1961 Sixpence below can be seen featuring an entwined design of a flora, leek, rose, thistle, and shamrock, the sixpence has long been a token of good luck so is an original and thoughtful gift for a friend or relative.
The Sixpence was first minted during Edward VI’s reign in 1551 and was struck in silver up until 1947. From this date onwards the coin was struck in cupronickel.
But there is one particular Victorian Sixpence that collectors hunt for…
The 1887 Withdrawn Silver Sixpence
In 1887, new coin designs were to be issued for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. Surprisingly, the Silver Sixpence shared the same design as the Gold Half Sovereign.
Of course, it didn’t take long for some crafty opportunists to start coating the Silver Sixpence in gold paint after realising they could easily be passed off as the far more valuable Half Sovereign.
The authorities hastily withdrew the Sixpence and a quick redesign took place, with the new 1887 Sixpence reverting to a design similar to previous years, with a crown at the top of the design and a wreath around the sides, with “SIX PENCE” written across the middle of the coin.
1887 Withdrawn Silver Sixpence
Nobody can be sure how rare these coins are, as mintage figures only record how many Sixpences were issued each year, rather than individually listing each design type and, because there were three different designs of the Sixpence in 1887, it’s impossible to know how many withdrawn coins survived.
One thing is certain though, the withdrawn coin is the Sixpence collectors hunt high and low for.
So whether you’re looking to hunt down a rare Sixpence for your collection, or if you’re preparing your Christmas pudding ready for Stir Up Sunday, we wish you the very best of luck this festive season.
Secure a special set of six Sixpences
The Sixpence has long been a token of good luck so is an original and thoughtful gift for a friend or relative.
2018 Change Checker Awards
We’re delighted to announce the 2018 Change Checker Awards in association with Coin Collector, where we’ll be celebrating the very best of the change collecting world from 2018!
We’re looking for the 2018 Change Checker of the Year and the 2018 Junior Change Checker of the year and we need your help!
Are you or do you know somebody that deserves to be crowned Change Checker of the year? If so, we’d love to hear why.
Have you 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 introduced all your friends to the world of change collecting?
If you or a friend has been the perfect Change Checker, we want to hear from you.
Send an email outlining why you, your family or friends 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 #CCAwards2018.
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 30th November.
Junior Change Checker of the Year applicants must aged 16 or younger.
All entries will be judged by our panel and the results announced on Friday 7th 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 2018 – judged by our panel
and
UK Coin Design of the Year 2018 – we held a public vote to shortlist the top coin of each denomination and have now opened the vote from the top 4 coins to find our overall winner!
The top shortlisted coins were the Remembrance Day £5, Captain Cook £2, Snowman 50p and ‘R’ A-Z 10p.
The winners for all Change Checker Award categories will be announced on the 7th December.
Good Luck!
[contact-form to=”[email protected]” subject=”2018 Change Checker of the Year”][contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”1″][contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”1″][contact-field label=”Tell us about your nominee…” type=”textarea” required=”1″][/contact-form]
Terms and Conditions
- The winners will receive an exclusive Change Checker trophy and a bundle of goodies to include a year’s subscription to Coin Collector magazine, a personalised medal, Change Checker T-Shirt and pen. There is no cash alternative.
- Participants agree to meet reasonable requests to assist publicity.
- The Change Checker Awards 2018 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
The Roald Dahl coin that never was…
Last night, news emerged that a UK coin to celebrate one of Britain’s best loved children’s authors, Roald Dahl, was rejected by The Royal Mint.
Famed for his classic novels such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits and Matilda (amongst many more), the incredibly imaginative author was born in September 1916, meaning the 100th anniversary coin would have been due for release in 2016.
And yet no such coin ever came to pass…
Credit: Daily Express
The Royal Mint decided against marking the centenary of the Roald Dahl’s birth because of concerns about the author’s anti semitic views. According to official papers obtained by the Guardian newspaper using freedom of information laws, the proposal to issue a coin to mark the centenary of Dahl’s birth was dropped because he was “not regarded as an author of the highest reputation”.
The Royal Mint have made clear that “commemorative coins go through a rigorous planning and selection process” led by the independent Royal Mint Advisory Committee, and not every coin idea proposed actually ends up making it through this process.
In fact, in 2012 a special six-sided coin was very nearly released to commemorate one of the most significant celebrations in British history – the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. This too was rejected by senior staff at The Royal Mint as the commemorative coin programme was already “sufficiently comprehensive.”
We almost had a 60p coin and it would have looked like a coin gone mad https://t.co/JpFp0vtYAv pic.twitter.com/eWNmWNmVkt
— Mike Wright (@MikeJGWright) 31 December 2015
The commemorative coins selected for release in 2016 actually included the great literary figures William Shakespeare and Beatrix Potter.
Although the Royal Mail did honour the children’s author with a set of commemorative stamps celebrating his books in 2012, unfortunately the magic and wonder of Dahl’s literary works won’t ever be recognised on a commemorative UK coin.
If you’re interested in coin collecting or want to find out more about any of the coins in circulation, 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