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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!
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2021 Change Checker Awards NOW OPEN!
We’re delighted to announce the 2021 Change Checker Awards in association with All About Coins, where we’ll be celebrating the very best of the change collecting world from 2021!
We’re looking for the 2021 Change Checker of the Year and the 2021 Junior Change Checker of the year and we need your help!
Do you know somebody who deserves to be crowned ‘Change Checker of the year’? If so, we’d love to hear why.
Has someone you know completed an epic collection? Do you know somebody who’s gone above and beyond to help other Change Checkers complete their collections? Or have you been introduced to the world of change collecting by another Change Checker?
If you know someone who has been the perfect Change Checker, we want to hear from you.
*** UPDATE ***
Submissions for Change Checker and Junior Change Checker of the Year have now closed.
All entries will be judged by our panel and the results announced on Monday 13th December. Please see terms and conditions.
The victorious Change Checker and Junior Change Checker of the year will each win an exclusive Change Checker trophy and a bundle of goodies worth more than £50, including a year’s subscription to Coin Collector magazine!
- Coin Story of the Year 2021 – chosen by our panel.
- UK Coin Design of the Year 2021 – judged by you.
UK Coin Design of the Year 2021
We’ve been asking you to vote for your favourite 50p, £2, and £5 coin design of the year! The votes are now closed. Stay tuned to find out which Coin Design came out on top on Monday 13th December.
The winners for all Change Checker Award categories will be announced on the 13th December.
Good Luck!
Terms and Conditions
- The winners will receive an exclusive Change Checker trophy and a bundle of goodies, as well as a year’s subscription to Coin Collector magazine. There is no cash alternative.
- Participants agree to meet reasonable requests to assist publicity.
- The Change Checker Awards 2021 are promoted by The Westminster Collection / Change Checker, trading divisions of 288 Group Ltd.
- Employees of 288 Group and their families are not eligible to enter.
- The judges’ decision will be final and no explanation, correspondence or discussion will be offered or entered into before or following the judges’ decision.
Never miss a future UK coin issue!
Join the Change Checker UK CERTIFIED BU Subscription Service and receive new UK coins sent to your door without the hassle of placing orders on the day of release!