Coin News
Discover the coins issued to mark the Armistice centenary from around the world…
In this incredibly poignant year, 100 years since the end of World War One, a number of stunning coins have been issued across the world to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the fight for freedom.
Over the year, we’ve been researching coins from all over the world, and the theme that brings us all together in 2018, is the Armistice Centenary. A number of truly stunning coins have been released to mark the anniversary and below are some of our favourites, chosen from world renowned Mints around the world marking this important Armistice centenary anniversary.
Change Checkers have been voting for which coin shown below is their favourite, and the results can be found at the bottom of this blog.
United Kingdom £2
2018 UK Armistice £2
This £2 is the final coin issued as part of the First World War £2 series first issued by The Royal Mint in 2014. Issued earlier in 2018, the design by Stephen Raw features the words ‘The truth untold, the pity of war’, from the Wilfred Owen poem Strange Meeting. The words stand out of a mud-like background in the centre of this striking £2 coin, which was actually modelled in the clay taken by the artist from the Sambre-Oise Canal where Wilfred Owen died in 1918.
United Kingdom £5
2018 UK Remembrance Day £5
To honour the sacrifices of all those who have risked and continue to risk their lives to protect our freedom, a UK £5 coin was issued by The Royal Mint. The coin features a design by Laura Clancy on the reverse symbolic of the resilient and determined poppies that grew amidst the chaos in the valley of the Somme and colour printing has been used to highlight the vibrant red in the poppy design. This coin stands as a poignant reminder of the brave men and women who have lost their lives or have been injured in conflicts past and present.
Isle of Man 50p
2018 Isle of Man First World War Centenary 50p
This 50p was chosen by the Isle of Man Government to commemorate the First World War Armistice Centenary. As a special acknowledgement to the sacrifices made by the 1,165 Manx men who lost their lives in the war, a specially minted coin featuring distinctive red poppies was presented to each child in full time education on the Isle of Man. Cupro-Nickel versions of the coin without the red poppies went into general circulation. The new coin features ‘The Manxman’ from the top of the Douglas War Memorial and the words ‘Their name liveth for evermore’.
Canada $2
2018 Canadian Armistice $2 coins – uncoloured and coloured
In October this year, The Royal Canadian Mint unveiled these finely crafted $2 coins issued to remember the sacrifices of Canadians who fought for freedom during WWI. Just 3 million coins have been minted – two million of a stunning coloured version and one million of the non-coloured coin, both of which have been released into circulation in Canada. The reverse image by artist Laurie McGaw features a soldier’s helmet in the centre to represent the many lives lost during WWI and the large poppy beneath it is inspired by the Canadian poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ by John McCrae, who died in combat in January, 1918.
US 1 Dollar
2018 World War I Centennial 2018 Proof Silver Dollar. Credit: usmint.gov
More than 4 million men and women from the United States served in the First World War and so to commemorate the centenary of World War I and honor the American soldiers, this Proof Silver Dollar has been issued. The obverse design is titled “Soldier’s Charge” and depicts a soldier gripping his rifle, with the words, “LIBERTY,” “1918,” and “IN GOD WE TRUST.” The reverse design is titled “Poppies in the Wire,” featuring poppies mixed amongst brutal barbed wiring.
New Zealand 50-cent
2018 New Zealand Armistice 50-cent
The 2018 Armistice 50 cent coin follows the Anzac coin which was minted in 2015 to mark the centenary of New Zealand’s efforts in WW1. Designed by Dave Burke, the reverse of this 50 Cent features a coloured red poppy flower surrounded by a wreath and the three silver ferns on the wreath represent the three services of the New Zealand Defence Force: Army, Navy and Air Force. The 50-cent coins were released into circulation in New Zealand but were actually struck by The Royal Canadian Mint, where all 10, 20 and 50 cent coins are currently minted for New Zealand.
Australia $2
2018 Australia Armistice $2
Released by The Royal Australian Mint, the new $2 Armistice coin serves as a tangible and visible reminder to all Australians of the fight for freedom 100 years ago. Designed by T Dean and developed with the assistance of the Australian War Memorial, the coin features the number 100 to signify the important Armistice Centenary Anniversary, and the centre zero features a red coloured poppy. The coin features a ‘C’ mintmark, meaning the coin has been struck at the Canberra Mint and is a stunning keepsake in this centenary year.
France €2
2018 France 2 Euro
Issued by La Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint), this €2 coin features a cornflower, a symbol of remembrance in France. This dates back to WWI as soldier’s uniforms were blue and these flowers, as well as poppies, continued to grow in land devastated by war. The flower also symbolizes delicacy and innocence.
Hungary HUF 2,000
2018 Hungary HUF 2,000. Credit: www.mnb.hu
The Magyar Nemzeti Bank in Hungary paid homage to the heroic efforts and the sacrifice made by Hungarian soldiers by issuing a 2,000 HUF collector coin. The dominant design featured on the obverse shows a section of a world map with Europe as the centre and starred settlement names in boxes where the most significant battles took place involving Hungarian soldiers. The reverse depicts a scene from the trenches, showing trench warfare and the tragedy of war, as well as the heroism and comradery of the soldiers.
Solomon Islands $1
2018 Solomon Islands $1. Credit: www.bnt.org.uk
The Solomon Islands have issued this limited edition 1 dollar coin featuring a cluster of vivid red Remembrance poppies against the Union Flag background. The reverse design has the important centenary dates and the words ‘LEST WE FORGET’. As a commonwealth country, the reverse of this coin features the Queen’s portrait.
Each coin pays its own historic tribute to this significant anniversary marked by millions of people around the world. Change Checker’s voted for their favourite of the stunning coins above, and the results are now in, with the UK Remembrance Day £5 coming in first place, followed by the Solomon Islands $1 and the Isle of Man First World War Centenary 50p.
Mark the historic Armistice Centenary anniversary!
This year marks the centenary of Armistice, arguably the most important military anniversary to be celebrated in British history.
Does Margaret Thatcher fit the bill? The hunt for the new face of the £50 note.
In their search to find a suitable candidate to feature on Britain’s new polymer £50 note, the Bank of England has received over 175,000 nominations, including the late Baroness and former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.
Some 800 of the names put forward are actually eligible to become the new face of the £50 note, with the Bank of England requiring the notable person to be real, deceased and have contributed in some way to UK science.
So does Margaret Thatcher fit the bill?
Late Baroness and former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. Credit itv.com
Most famed as Britain’s first female Prime Minister and the UK’s longest-serving leader of the 20th century during her time as Conservative Party leader from 1979 until 1990, what many people may not know is that Margaret Thatcher’s early career was actually in the field of science, as she worked as a research chemist.
In fact, for a period of time she worked for J Lyons, creating emulsifiers for ice-cream and developing the much-loved soft scoop!
However, it was during her later political career that people started to think of Maggie as cold and frosty, as her nickname ‘The Iron Lady’ suggests. Her uncompromising political style made her one of the most controversial political figures in British history.
Considering her degree in chemistry and following her famous work with ice-cream, you can certainly agree that she has contributed to the UK field of science, but would you like to see her on the new polymer £50 note?
Guido Petition’s interpretation of the £50 note featuring Margaret Thatcher. Credit: order-order.com
The Bank of England has published a list of names nominated in the first week of the selection process, as a preliminary stage of identifying eligible names for consideration.
Initial speculation seems to favour Professor Stephen Hawking, Alan Turing, Ada Lovelace and Rosalind Franklin as suggestions for the new note, however other more unusual names also made the list, including Will Hay (comedy actor/amateur astronomer) and Roger Bannister (first runner to achieve a four-minute mile).
You have up until the 14th of December to continue nominating characters via The Bank of England’s website. We don’t yet know when the chosen notable person will be announced or when the new note will be released, other than it will be after the new £20 polymer note featuring JMW Turner which will be released in 2020.
So would you like to see Margaret Thatcher on the new polymer £50 note? Change Checkers voted in our poll on Facebook and the results are in:
It’s clear that Maggie isn’t a favourite to feature on the new £50 note, but who from the scientific community would you like to see on the note? Let us know in the comments below.
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
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.