Coin News
The United Kingdom coin struck in New York
Today I would like to tell you a fascinating story about a very limited edition United Kingdom coin struck in New York almost 60 years ago.
It is extremely rare that United Kingdom coins are struck anywhere other than in the UK, however the New York Exhibition in 1960 presented a rare opportunity for The Royal Mint to take their minting expertise overseas.
The New York Exhibition
Still struggling to recover from post-war austerity, the height of Great Britain as the dominant trading nation of the world seemed a distant memory in 1960.
Britain was desperate to revive its ability to trade internationally and so the New York Exhibition was organised to demonstrate the best of British manufacturing to the American market with the hope of increasing British exports to the United States.
The 1960 New York Exhibition Crown
The New York Exhibition Crown
A brand new coin was struck for the occasion and although it was somewhat overlooked in Britain at the time, it stands out today as one of the most interesting Royal Mint coins ever struck.
That is because although just over a million New York Exhibition crowns were minted in the UK, a very small number were struck at the exhibition in New York so that visitors could see the best of British manufacturing before their own eyes.
This limited edition coin was minted especially for the visitors to the exhibition and only 70,000 coins were struck – that is less than 7% of the mintage of the ordinary circulation version!
Could I own a limited edition New York crown?
Although they were struck with a specially polished die, there were no special mintmarks on the coins struck in New York making them extremely difficult to distinguish from the ordinary uncirculated version.
However, as the ordinary uncirculated coin was somewhat overlooked at the time in Britain it too has a surprisingly low mintage – less than a fifth of the 1953 Coronation Crown and less than 6% of the 1965 Churchill Crown.
Some of the unsold crowns minted at the exhibition were brought back to the UK by The Royal Mint, meaning that there are likely to be a small number of rare crown coins which were struck in New York buried in collections across the country.
This coin played a key role in boosting Britain’s trade relationship with the United States, and the fact that a very limited number were actually minted at the exhibition in New York makes it undoubtedly one of the most interesting UK coins of the 20th century.
Own the New York Exhibition Crown struck in uncirculated condition!
We are offering collectors the chance to own the New York Exhibition Crown struck in uncirculated condition (who knows, it might even be one of the rare coins that came back from New York!).
To secure your New York Exhibition Crown for just £19.99 (+p&p), click here >>
The life and reign of Queen Victoria told through her coins…
One of the most interesting things about historic coins is the insight they give into the time they were struck and of the monarch who issued them.
A particular reign that has always fascinated collectors is that of Queen Victoria. During Victoria’s long reign only three major obverse portraits adorned her coins and they come together to chart the life and reign of one of Britain’s most popular monarchs.
The Young Head
The first effigy to feature on Queen Victoria’s coinage is known as the ‘Young Head’ portrait. This early portrait shows Victoria at the tender age of just 18, when she acceded to the throne.
The public in the early 19th century would not have been aware that the youthful Victoria depicted on their coins would soon become the leader of the largest Empire the world had ever seen and would reign longer than any British monarch before her.
The ‘Young Head’ portrait was extremely popular with the general public and remained on Victoria’s coins with only minor alterations for the majority of her reign.
Young Head – This design graced most of Queen Victoria’s coinage right up to 1887.
The Jubilee Head
After 60 years however, it was decided that a new portrait was necessary to reflect Victoria as the elder stateswoman she had become. Victoria’s Golden Jubilee marked the occasion for a design change and Joseph Edgar Boehm was chosen to design a portrait for the 78 year old Queen.
However, Boehm’s portrait failed to gain the public’s admiration in the way its predecessor had. The portrait was met with ridicule by the general public who found the small crown balanced precariously on her head as unrealistic and almost comical.
Jubilee Head – Designed in 1887 to mark her Golden Jubilee.
The Veiled Head
The ‘Jubilee’ portrait was quickly replaced in 1893 after only six years, with what was to be the final obverse used on Victoria’s coinage. This new effigy was designed by Thomas Brock and shows a mature bust of the Queen with a veil representing her long period of mourning after the death of her husband Prince Albert.
Victoria was deeply attached to her husband and she sank into depression after his death. For the rest of her reign she wore black and the final portrait of the highly respected Queen represents this secluded period of mourning that came towards the end of her life.
Veiled Head – The Jubilee Head design was short-lived, being replaced by Thomas Brock’s ‘Old Head’ or ‘Veiled Head’ design in 1893.
Together, these coin portraits tell the story of Queen Victoria, with each marking an important period from her long reign. All of these coins are now over 100 years old and for me they epitomise Victorian coin collecting.
Limited stock available on Queen Victoria Half Crown Set…
Today you have the opportunity to own each of these key portraits in the Queen Victoria Half Crown Set. However, these historic coins are very difficult to source and we only have a limited number available.
UPDATE: How rare is my coin? A Change Checker guide to UK coin mintages
You might remember our blog from last year reviewing 2016 coin mintages, but we’ve also updated our Change Checker Guide to UK coin mintages which includes all the details we have so far on the coins issued in 2017.
Have you managed to find any yet?
Updated mintages including 2017 dated 50p coins
Not surprisingly, Kew Gardens remains king of the 50p coins, with Jemima Puddle Duck also sitting in top three, however a new contender has knocked this sought-after Beatrix Potter 50p off second spot, as the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p takes 2nd place just below Kew Gardens.
The 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p was issued to commemorate the achievements of one of the most influential scientists of all time and a key figure in the scientific revolution, as well as being master at The Royal Mint for three decades. Although this coin comes nowhere near to the Kew Gardens’ scarce mintage of 210,000 and is closer to Jemima Puddle Duck’s mintage of 2,100,000, still only 1,800,000 of these coins were minted, meaning our top three each have at least 1 million less coins in circulation than any other 50p.
Other newcomers to our updated UK mintage guide include the 2017 Beatrix Potter coins – Jeremy Fisher, Tom Kitten, Benjamin Bunny and Peter Rabbit. These four coins have fairly high mintage figures, with Peter Rabbit in fact having the highest mintage figure of all circulation 50ps at 19,300,000. This is thought to be due to the staggering popularity of the 2016 Beatrix Potter coins and high demand for the Peter Rabbit coin in particular. It will be incredibly interesting to see what the mintage figures for the 2018 Beatrix Potter characters will be.
But what about the 2017 £2 coins?
We haven’t been able to include the 2017 Jane Austen £2 or the WW1 Aviation £2 coins in our charts yet as the mintage figures are yet to be released, however you can view our previous £2 mintage figures here. There hasn’t been any feedback from Change Checkers finding these coins in circulation but we’re hoping they’ll turn up soon. We will of course be the first to update you as soon as we have more information on these coins.
So far in 2018, seven new 50ps have been released, including the Representation of the People Act, Peter Rabbit, Flopsy Bunny, Tailor of Gloucester, Mrs Tittlemouse, Paddington at the Station and Paddington at the Palace. As far as we’re aware the coins have not entered circulation and therefore we don’t expect the mintage figures to be released for quite a while.
Want to add the 2017 Jane Austen £2 to your collection?
Own it today in Brilliant Uncirculated quality. Secure yours here >>