Coin News
What’s your favourite A-Z 10p coin design of the year 2018?
We’re on the hunt for the best Coin Design of 2018 as part of the 2018 Change Checker Awards and we need your help! With over 50 new coins released this year, we’ve decided to shortlist the coins by denomination and then determine one overall winner from the top 10p, 50p, £2 and £5 coins as voted by Change Checkers!
A-Z 10p Coins
We start the voting with the 26 A-Z of Great Britain 10p coins which had a surprise release in March 2018 and have proved incredibly popular amongst collectors, yet notoriously tricky to find in circulation… 2.6 million were originally released back in March and now a further 2.6 million have been released, so they should start turning up in our change soon!
But which A-Z 10p coin is your favourite?
Cast your vote now using the poll at the bottom of the page and find out more about the different A-Z coins below!
With 26 beautiful designs to choose from, it’s not easy picking a favourite, but we’re looking forward to finding out which A-Z 10p coin is top amongst Change Checkers.
The winning 10p will then be entered into our Coin Design of the Year vote as part of the 2018 Change Checker Awards, alongside the top 50p, £2 and £5 coins from 2018 to determine which coin should be crowned the overall winner!
The voting has now closed and the results can be found below:
It’s now time for you to vote for your overall winner, shortlisted from Change Checker’s favourite A-Z 10p, 50p, £2 and £5 coin of the year.
View our full range of A-Z 10p coins and collecting packs here >>
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
How much is my Charles Dickens £2 worth?
Could your Charles Dickens £2 really be worth a fortune?
Every keen collector knows that it is worthwhile paying close attention to the small details of your coins – it’s the only way you can ever hope to spot an error. However, it’s also important to know when you have a genuine rarity (and when you don’t). There are a few stories which crop up more often than others, and one of them is the elaborated value of the Charles Dickens £2. So hopefully this post will help dispel some of the myths about the coin.
The Charles Dickens £2 coin was issued by The Royal Mint in 2012 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of one of Britain’s most famous and beloved writers. The design features Dickens’ recognisable profile crafted from the titles of his most famous works and is a favourite amongst collectors.
But recently, a number of stories have been popping up regarding the ‘errors’ people have noticed, such as fading dots around the centre part, upside down edge lettering and misspelling of the edge inscription. In fact, some of these coins have even been listed on eBay for thousands of pounds, leaving Change Checkers wondering “how much is the Charles Dickens’ £2 coin actually worth?”
The value of the Charles Dickens £2 coin is often elaborated on online market places such as eBay as seen here the £2 coin is listed for £3,500. Credit: eBay
But before you get too excited and consider putting your Charles Dickens up for sale, let’s take a look at what these ‘errors’ really mean…
Disappearing dots
This has also been found on many other £2 coins so is not exclusive to the Dickens coin, where the dots that should that go all around the silver centre of the coin suddenly disappear. Unfortunately this wouldn’t actually add any value to the coin, as it is simply caused by the mass production process, where millions of coins are being struck at once and the dies get worn down. It’s difficult to ensure all coins look exactly the same considering the millions of coins that are struck at one time, but we definitely feel that variations like this makes collecting more exciting.
Dots around silver centre disappearing. Credit: eBay
Upside down lettering
Upside down lettering is very common on bi-metallic coins and can be seen on many of the £2 coins you find in your change. Again, this isn’t actually an error, but a variation to look out for on your coins. It happens during the minting process, when the edge lettering is applied before the obverse and reverse of the coin has even been struck. This then explains why some coins can end up with the edge lettering appearing upside down.
£2 coin with upside down edge lettering
Misspelled edge inscription
Many people have noticed that there is a ‘miss spelled’ WILL on the edge inscription of their Charles Dickens £2 coin. This is actually caused by a worn out die, where the end of the L has been worn down to look like an I. This is a common variation amongst coins and can also be seen on the 2005 Gunpowder plot £2, which now has many variations of edge inscription due to the worn out R appearing as a P.
Edge inscription ‘WILL’ spelt ‘WII’. Credit: eBay
The Charles Dickens £2 coin actually only ranks as ‘common’ on our Scarcity Index, however it’s fascinating to hear about the different variations people have noticed on their coins and looking out for these makes for great coin collecting!
Unfortunately, people listing coins like this on eBay hoping for elaborate amounts are usually just chancers looking for a quick buck and rarely mean the coin is actually an error.
It’s the differences caused by human error, such as a wrong date or design or even the wrong metal used that are a lot more sought after and would likely have added value for your coin – so be sure to keep a look out for these!
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