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Official UK £2 coin celebrates 150 years of the FA Cup!
Can you work out the connection between these three events?
- In 2011, Yaya Toure’s 76th minute goal led Manchester City to seal their first major trophy in 35 years.
- The 1999 semi-final had one of the best solo goals in history, played between two of the biggest rivals in footballs.
- Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-0 in the 2002 final.
These are some of the very best moments in FA Cup History!
Producing hometown heroes, as underdogs play alongside Premier League giants, these unforgettable moments unite football fans, making the FA Cup one of the greatest knockout tournaments in the world.
The 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup 2022 £2 coin
This year, to celebrate a remarkable 150 years of the FA Cup, a brand new UK £2 coin has been issued featuring the famed FA Cup Trophy.
An absolute must-have for collectors and fans of the beautiful game alike, this is the perfect keepsake to commemorate such an incredible anniversary in football history.
Your 2022 UK 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup £2 coin has been struck to a superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality and protectively encapsulated in official Change Checker packaging to preserve it for generations to come.
You can secure this brand new coin for your collection for just £9.50 (+p&p) >>
With a one of the largest fan-bases in the UK, football memorabilia is in high demand by collectors all over the world.
We’ve even seen huge popularity for Football themed coins in the past. Continue reading to find out our top UK coins that have celebrated this fantastic sport…
Olympic Football 50p
In 2012, the release of the Olympic 50p series kick-started a collecting frenzy across the nation.
It’s estimated that around 75% of these coins have been removed from circulation by collectors which means they are incredibly sought-after, especially considering these 50ps have some of the lowest mintage figures in circulation…
Many of the Olympic 50ps have a mintage less than 2,000,000 with the rarest being the Olympic Football 50p. This coin has a mintage of just 1,125,500!
It features a design of the hotly debated off-side rule, represented by a simple diagram. Designer Neil Wolfson, a sports journalist by trade, chose an image which he felt would encapsulate the sport whilst also provoke discussion.
Have you been lucky enough to find this sought-after coin in your collection? Let us know in the comments below!
1996 Football £2
Before 1997, £2 coins were struck from a single-coloured, nickel-brass and were mainly produced for collectors and reserved for very special occasions.
Between 1986 and 1996, only seven commemorative £2 coins were issued and this 1996 Football £2 was one of them.
The Euros of ’96 was such a significant occasion that The Royal Mint issued this coin “in celebration of football”.
The reverse design resembles a football, and is accentuated by the unusual concave surface of the coin. The year of 1996 is prominent on the design and the sixteen small rings represent the sixteen teams competing in the tournament. Only 5,141,350 were ever minted.
1996 saw England play host to the 10th European Football Championship and the eventual winners of the competition were Germany who knocked out the hosts in the semi-finals.
Do you remember seeing this £2 coin when it was first issued? Perhaps you even have it in your collection! Let us know in the comments below.
I think you can agree that Football-themed coins have a reputation for being incredibly sought-after amongst collectors. With this brand new £2 coin celebrating such a significant anniversary, it’s sure to be popular.
Secure the The 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup 2022 £2 coin for your collection!
Your 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup 2022 £2 coin has been struck to a superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality and protectively encapsulated in official Change Checker packaging to preserve for generations to come.
An absolute must-have for collectors and fans of the beautiful game alike, this is the perfect keepsake to commemorate such an incredible anniversary in football history.
National Storytelling Week – stories told through coins!
Today marks the start of National Storytelling Week, which is celebrated in February each year. It’s a great chance for people to share their own stories and listen to the stories told by others.
As part of the celebrations, we’ve taken a look at some UK coins that celebrate some of the very best storytellers.
William Shakespeare
One of the greatest storytellers and playwrights of all time, William Shakespeare, shot to fame during the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages of British theatre.
He wrote 38 plays, 2 narrative poems, 154 sonnets and a variety of other pieces!
In 2016 to commemorate the 400th anniversary since his death, The Royal Mint issued a three-coin series, each taking inspiration from a theme of Shakespeare’s plays.
This coin’s design was inspired by Shakespeare’s history plays, with an edge inscription that reads: “The Hollow Crown”, from his play “Richard II”.
The other £2 coins take inspiration from his Tragedies, with an inscription taken from Hamlet, and his comedies with this coin’s inscription reading ‘All the world’s a stage’ from As You Like It.
Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter’s enchanting tales of countryside characters, including Peter Rabbit and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle skyrocketed her to stardom. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1902 and it instantly became a best-seller!
And it was in 2016 that Peter Rabbit escaped from Mr. McGregor’s Garden and made his first debut on United Kingdom coinage.
Issued to celebrate 150 years since the birth of renowned Children’s author, Beatrix Potter, this 50p changed coin collecting forever.
This series of coins continued into 2017, 2018 and 2019. Fifteen Beatrix Potter coins have now been issued since 2016, each featuring one of Potter’s delightful characters, from Flopsy Bunny to Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle.
The title of the rarest of the Beatrix Potter 50p actually belongs to two coins! The 2018 Peter Rabbit and 2018 Flopsy Bunny both have a mintage of just 1.4 million!
Charles Dickens
A list of great story tellers wouldn’t be complete without Charles Dickens!
Dickens’ enchanting stories, vivid characters, and depiction of Victorian life are widely acknowledged across the world by critics and scholars alike and his novels and short stories continue to be widely popular to this day.
The reverse design of this £2 coin by Matthew Dent features Dickens’ recognizable profile crafted from the titles of his most famous works.
This coin had a circulating mintage of 8,190,000 and is one of my personal favourites!
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie’s first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published in 1920 and it kick-started the nation’s love of her detective novels and murder mysteries.
In 2020, to mark 100 years since her first publication, The Royal Mint celebrated the world’s best-selling novelist with this £2 coin.
David Lawrence’s design of this coin pays homage to Christie’s crime novels, with a piece of a jigsaw slotting into place and her signature at the bottom.
The coin also features the edge inscription ‘100 years of mystery 1920’-2020’ to mark this very special anniversary.
Sherlock Holmes 50p
In 2019, to mark 160 years since the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Royal Mint issued this 50p coin.
The prolific writer is best known for his incredibly popular detective stories featuring the fictional Sherlock Holmes™. It is said his works revolutionized the crime genre, and despite Doyle sharing an ambivalent relationship with his famous character, Holmes’ popularity resulted in Doyle becoming one of the best-paid authors of the time.
The reverse has been designed by Stephen Raw and features a silhouette of Sherlock smoking a pipe, surrounded by a few of his most-famous story titles.
Are there any other great storytellers you think should be celebrated on our UK coins? Comment below!
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2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p – ENTERING CIRCULATION!
In celebration of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, The Royal Mint issued the UK’s FIRST Royal 50p, as part of their Annual Coin Set.
The stunning design, by Osborne Ross, sees the number 70 take centre stage, with the Royal Cypher and dates of Queen Elizabeth II‘s reign also featuring. The fifth portrait of Her Majesty features on the obverse, by Jody Clark.
Issued initially in collector quality, it’s proven incredibly popular with collectors, with thousands racing to add the 2022 UK Annual Set to their collections, to get their hands on this very special issue.
Change Checker is delighted to announce that 1.3 million 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p coins initially entered circulation with a further 1 million being issued just before the Platinum Jubilee weekend!*
*This coin has gone out to 2000 Post Office branches with each branch receiving £250.
Be sure to take a photo of your 2022 UK Platinum Jubilee 50p when you find it in your change and tag us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. Or you can even use the hashtag #ChangeCheckerJubilee50p so that we can find your photos there!
The 1977 Diamond Jubilee Crown
The last time a Jubilee coin entered circulation, it was met with HUGE collector interest.
In 1977, Her Majesty celebrated 25 years on the throne – her Silver Jubilee and the first of her reign. The Royal Mint issued this commemorative crown.
The coin’s reverse design is focused upon the Coronation theme and features the Ampulla and anointing spoon from the Royal regalia surrounded by a heraldic floral pattern and the Crown.
The coin’s obverse takes inspiration from the 1953 Coronation Crown, showing a newly designed image of the Queen on horseback.
Unusually, this coin does not feature an edge inscription or date on its reverse, making it the only crown of its kind at the time of issue. It was also one of the last crowns to be issued with a face value of 25 pence (commemorative crowns issued after 1990 have a face value of £5), which makes it continually sought-after among collectors!
Roughly 37 million coins were produced at that time, and thousands were gifted to children across the UK as a memento of the occasion.
We’re so excited that Her Majesty’s 70 years of service on the throne is also being celebrated by the issue of a brand new 50p into circulation!
I’m sure demand for the new issue will be high as collectors rush to secure one for their 50p collection.
Will you be searching for the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p in your change? Let us know in the comments below!
Secure the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p with special obverse design!
Whilst Change Checkers will be delighted to hear that the version of the Platinum Jubilee 50p in the Annual Coin Set will also be entering circulation, serious collectors will want to ensure they get their hands on THIS extremely special version, which you won’t find in your change.
Within just TWO hours of release, The Royal Mint saw sell-outs of key specifications and THOUSANDS of you were queuing up to get your hands on this brand new coin.
Be sure you don’t miss out! Click here to secure yours in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for JUST £4.99 (+p&p) >>