General info
Christmas comes early for Change Checkers as new UK coin is announced!
It might only be October, but we’ve already got that festive feeling at Change Checker HQ, as a brand new 2018 Christmas coin has just been announced!
In August we heard the exciting news that a Snowman 50p would be released this year, but on top of this, we are now delighted to reveal an early Christmas present for you all, as The Royal Mint will also be issuing a £5 coin this Christmas, featuring the Nutcracker!
2018 Nutcracker £5 coin
Christmas really has come early for us all, as this beautifully Christmassy, brand new coin for 2018 is now available to add to your Christmas list!
This fantastically festive coin design by acclaimed engraver, Harry Brockway features a magical scene from the Nutcracker ballet.. It is the very first time that the Nutcracker has appeared on a UK coin and is only available in Brilliant Uncirculated quality – dare I say it’s the perfect gift idea if you’re looking to get ahead with your Christmas shopping!
Let’s take a look back at some other UK Christmas Issues…
The FIRST EVER UK Christmas £5 coin
Last year saw the FIRST EVER UK Christmas £5 coin being struck by The Royal Mint, featuring a traditional Christmas tree design by engraver and printmaker Edwina Ellis.
The Christmas tree plays a key role in festive traditions, from decorating with baubles to keeping presents around the tree and opening them, so it is only fitting that one of the most iconic symbols of the festive period was featured on the first UK £5 Christmas Coin.
This seasonal sensation was so popular that The Royal Mint have struck again, and this year’s Nutcracker coin is sure to be another festive favourite!
The Christmas Nativity Story portrayed on the UK £20 Coin
In 2016, The Royal Mint struck a special Fine Silver £20 coin celebrating the Nativity story. The coin was designed by Bishop Gregory Cameron, who also created the design for the last ‘round pound’.
This was the first Christmas coin ever struck by The Royal Mint and was a limited issue with a mintage of only 30,000 coins. Struck in solid fine .999 Silver, this stunning coin weighs in at one half of an ounces – perhaps a bit heavy to hang on your Christmas tree!
The much anticipated Snowman 50p – due to be released later this year
This year will certainly be a merry one, as the Nutcracker £5 isn’t the only Christmas coin to be released this year. As already mentioned, a new 50p coin has been announced, featuring a depiction of the Snowman and the boy flying through the air, as taken from the book ‘The Snowman’.
It’s expected the coin will be issued later this year to celebrate 40 years of Raymond Brigg’s ‘The Snowman’, with commemorative collector’s editions available in Brilliant Uncirculated, Silver and Gold being made available.
So, will you be adding these coins to your Christmas list this year? We think they’re just wonderful and can’t wait to hear what Change Checkers think about these beautiful Christmas designs. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The only Christmas card you’ll want this year!
Why not send some festive cheer to friends and family with the Official Change Checker Christmas Card, featuring this beautiful Nutcracker £5 coin!
It’s the perfect way to wish a loved one merry Christmas so secure yours by clicking here >>
Light up your world with this glow in the dark coin from Canada!
The Royal Canadian Mint has released a stunning set of coins in 2018, including an exclusive piece marking the 200th anniversary of the 49th parallel.
Combining three technologies into one outstanding 50 cent coin, Steve McPhee’s design utilises vibrant colouring to superimpose the red and white Canadian flag across a map of the country, whilst an engraved line highlights the border between Canada and the USA.
But that’s not all…
When plunged into darkness, special luminescent material lights up the coin, including the latitude and longitude lines – creating a glow in the dark map of Canada!
This stunning set includes one of every denomination in circulation from the $2 to the 5-Cent, but the stand out coin is the exclusive 50-Cent coin – which has only been made available as part of the set.
In 2017, The Royal Canadian Mint released a sell out set of coins celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday, highlighting this milestone event in Canadian history.
The set also included a glow in the dark piece – the two-dollar coin, (or toonie), celebrating the wonders of Canada with an evocative design featuring the Northern Lights.
Collectors were desperate to secure this unusual coin, but just 3 million of these coins were released into general circulation in Canada, meaning just one in ten Canadians were able to find one in their change.
In fact, each and every one of these special Royal Canadian Mint releases have become a collector’s item and going by previous issues, 25 cents and $2 coins are extremely difficult to get hold of.
There’s no doubt that if coins such as these were released in the UK they would create a collecting frenzy! Canadian Change Checkers are certainly incredibly lucky to be able to get hold of fantastic coins such as this from the world renowned Canadian mint.
SOLD OUT AT THE MINT – 2018 Canadian Armistice Centenary $2 Coin
In 2018, to mark the Armistice centenary, The Royal Canadian Mint released this $2 as a tribute to combatants and a pledge to never forget the sacrifices of the First World War.
Just 1 million of these coins were released into circulation in Canada, but today you can secure this stunning coin in uncirculated quality for your collection.
Click here to secure the 2018 Canadian Armistice Centenary $2 Coin.
200 years since the birth of a monster…
This year celebrates the 200th birthday of one of the most infamous fictional characters in historic literature – Frankenstein’s Monster!
Frankenstein. Credit: pixabay.com
With film adaptations across various genres, from the quasi-rock opera The Rocky Horror Picture Show to sci-fi classics like Prometheus, the tale of the dysfunctional Victor Frankenstein and his mad scientific invention is known by all of us in some shape or form.
In the gothic tale – written by Mary Shelley – an obsessed Victor Frankenstein attempts to bring a corpse back to life in his laboratory through mad methods of chemistry, alchemy and a ‘flash’ of electricity.
To celebrate this important literary bi-centenary The Royal Mint has released a commemorative £2. The reverse features the word ‘Frankenstein’ in electric gothic font, along with ‘Bicentenary of Mary Shelley’s The Modern Prometheus’ written around the edge.
The edge inscription reads ‘A spark of being’, the words of Dr Victor Frankenstein when he creates ‘creature’.
We haven’t seen anything quite like this in a coin design before and since the design was revealed at the start of the year there has been a huge response from excited collectors looking to get their hands on this unusual coin.
What do you think of this new £2 coin? Let us know in the comments below!
Commemorate 200 years of Mary Shelley’s exceptional novel with the ‘Frankenstein’ BU £2
This striking £2 coin is now available to add to your collection in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
Collectors interest is expected to be ‘monstrous’, so click here to order yours now >>>