Coin News
Spot the difference: The Battle of Britain 50p that caused a stir!
In 2015, a UK 50p was issued to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and quickly earned recognition in the collecting world.
Not only did the design by sculptor Gary Breeze gain a positive reception from the public, it was also the first UK commemorative coin to be issued with THREE different obverses!
The Brilliant Uncirculated Battle of Britain 50p was issued early in 2015 featuring the 4th portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley on the obverse, but NO denomination on either side of the coin! It was quickly dubbed an error coin and some chancers managing to sell the coins on the secondary market for nearly £100 each!
After the controversy surrounding the coin erupted, the Royal Mint confirmed that the Battle of Britain 50p intended for circulation later on in the year WOULD include the ’50 PENCE’ denomination AND the then new 5th portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Jody Clark. But was this after they had realised their mistake?
It doesn’t stop there though, as the Silver Proof version of the Battle of Britain 50p featured yet another different obverse, showing the 5th portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Jody Clark but NO DENOMINATION.
It’s never been officially confirmed whether this was a true error or whether there was a die mix up during the year that the coinage portrait changed, but either way it sure makes for interesting collecting!
And then there were four…
In 2019, to mark both the 75th anniversary of D Day and the 50th Anniversary of the 50p, The Royal Mint reissued the Battle of Britain 50p as part of the 50p Military Set.
The 2019 Reissued Battle of Britain 50p featured the reissued date 2019 and Jody Clark’s QEII portrait, meaning there are now officially FOUR different obverses you can find on a Battle of Britain 50p!
Do you have any of the Battle of Britain 50ps in your collection?
Let us know in the comments if you’ve found a rare version of the Battle of Britain 50p in your change, or perhaps you have one of each of the 4 different obverses!
Commemorate the 85th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain
You can get your hand on the 85th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain Gold Plated 50p from The Westminster Collection for just £4.99 when you trial the Battle of Britain 85th Anniversary Gold-plated 50p Collection.
2024 Change Checker Awards – Winners Revealed!
Change Checkers, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the 2024 Change Checker Awards winners ceremony!
2024 was an amazing year for UK coins and for collectors too. We had so many incredible nominations for Change Checker and Junior Change Checker of the Year, but there can only be one winner of each…
Change Checker of the Year
Our 2024 Change Checker of the Year is…Bryan Hyman!
Bryan was nominated three times for his coin knowledge, kindness and generosity helping others build their collections, and of course a very impressive collection of his own!
Congratulations Bryan, keep up the good work!
Junior Change Checker of the Year
This year, Junior Change Checkers of the Year goes to…Dylan from Sussex!
Dylan was nominated by his mum who said that, at just 11 years old, he has a fantastic coin collection and is hugely knowledgeable about coins and their history. He helps his school friends to discover the joy of collecting, swapping with each other to grow their collections, and he even has his own YouTube channel – check him out @DylanCollectsCoins
Congratulations Dylan, keep collecting and inspiring others.
Both Bryan and Dylan will be receiving a personalized engraved Change Checker trophy, a Change Checker bundle of goodies worth £50 AND a year’s subscription to Coin Collector Magazine! A big thank you to All About Coins for gifting the subscriptions for this year’s Change Checker Awards – I think we can all agree it makes a fantastic prize!
2024 Coin Design of the Year
This year, we also asked you to vote for your favourite 2024 UK coin design!
With so many incredible UK coins issued this year, it’s hard to chose just one – but the votes are in and it seems we have a clear winner…
With 23.84% of the votes, the RNLI 50p has been voted as your favourite 2024 coin!
The top 5 also included the D-Day 50p, the Team GB and ParalympicsGB 50p, the 2024 Snowman 50p and the Six Decades of Bond £5!
A big thank you once again to All About Coins for supporting us this year and of course a huge congratulations to our winners!
We’d like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support in 2024 and wish you luck with your Change Checking in 2025!
Never miss a UK coin issue!
Sign up for the Change Checker New Issue Subscription and never miss a UK coin issue again!
2024 Change Checker Awards NOW OPEN!
We’re delighted to announce the 2024 Change Checker Awards are now OPEN!
The Change Checker Awards give collectors the chance to look back at all the fantastic coin issues of the year whilst celebrating the very best coin collectors out there.
We’re looking for the 2024 Change Checker of the Year and the 2024 Junior Change Checker of the year and we need your help!
Watch our video below, or continue reading to find out how to enter…
Change Checker and Junior Change Checker of the Year
*Submissions for 2024 Change Checker and Junior Change Checker of the Year are now closed*
Winners will be announced on 4th December 2024.
UK Coin Design of the Year
You’ve also been voting for the UK Coin Design of the Year, which will also be revealed on 4th December.
