First look: New Royal Mint coin designs for 2020!

Happy New Year and Happy New Coins Change Checkers!

We can’t wait to reveal to you the new 2020 coin designs and I’m sure you’ll agree that there are some really fantastic coins to look forward to.

So let’s kick off the year with the coins we’ve all been waiting for, the 2020 Annual Set…

Team GB

We all love a 50p, and in this year’s Annual Coin Set The Royal Mint have issued a brand new 50p coin to support Great Britain in the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Designed by David Knapton, the 2020 Team GB 50p features symbols depicting individual Olympic sports accompanied by the Olympic Rings, the Team GB logo, the inscription ‘TEAM GB’ and the date ‘2020’.

The Olympics are an undeniably popular subject and for many the 2012 Olympic 50p series marked the start of their passion for change collecting.

In 2016 a Team GB 50p was issued to support Great Britain’s efforts in Rio and this was thought of by many as the 30th Olympic 50p, but with a new 2020 Team GB coin now being issued, could this be the 31st Olympic 50p?

We certainly love the design and I’m sure Change Checkers will think it’s a real winner too!

2020 Agatha Christie £2

English detective novelist Agatha Christie published her first novel, ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’ in 1920 and now, 100 years later, a £2 coin has been issued to commemorate her work.

Her 1920 novel introduced one of Britain’s best-loved detectives Hercule Poirot, who became a long-running character in Christie’s work, featuring in 33 novels and 54 short stories!

This coin has been designed by David Lawrence and features a nearly completed jigsaw puzzle with the final piece ready to be inserted, and the inscription ‘1920 100 YEARS OF MYSTERY 2020′.

Following the popularity of UK coins celebrating great British writers, such as the Jane Austen £2, Sherlock Holmes 50p, Charles Dickens £2, the Beatrix Potter 50ps and more, we’re sure that this new coin is bound to prove a real hit with collectors.

2020 75th Anniversary of VE Day £2

The next coin in the 2020 Annual Set marks an incredibly poignant anniversary, commemorating 75 years since VE Day and the end of the Second World War.

Victory Day in Europe celebrates the Allies of World War II formally accepting Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on the 8th May 1945, marking the end of the war.

Dominique Evans‘ design features a woman holding a newspaper aloft in crowd of celebrating people, set against a backdrop of the word VICTORY.

The edge inscription reads ‘JUST TRIUMPH AND PROUD SORROW’ which is incredibly fitting for a coin which marks such a pivotal moment in British history.

2020 Mayflower £2

2020 marks the 400th anniversary of The Mayflower’s voyage from Plymouth, England to the ‘New World’ in 1620.

This voyage saw over 100 Pilgrims and around 30 crew spend two treacherous months at sea, battling against the North Atlantic wind as they journeyed to America to establish the first permanent New England colony by signing the Mayflower Compact.

Designed by Chris Costello, the Mayflower £2 shows the ship upon a rough sea, with a guiding star in the night sky and the edge inscription ‘Undertaken for the glory of God’.

Excitingly for collectors, this is not the first time that The Mayflower has appeared on a £2 coin, as a similar design actually featured on the 1994 trial piece, which often sells for well into three figures on the secondary market!

2020 George III £5

This year marks the 200th anniversary since the death of George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland.

George’s life and reign were longer than any British monarch before him, although due to his deteriorating health during the last 10 years of his life, his eldest son George IV ruled as Prince Regent.

To celebrate the life of George III, The Royal Mint have issued a new £5 coin designed by Dominique Evans.

The coin features the portrait of King George III in a crowned cartouche at the centre of the coin, with his Royal Cypher below, floral emblems of the United Kingdom and scenes associated with his life from Windsor Castle and the Kew Observatory.

The announcement of the new annual coins is always an exciting moment for Change Checkers, particularly when the anniversaries are as significant as these.

Do you have a favourite coin from the set? Let us know in the comments below!


Own the 2020 Commemorative Coin Set

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Click here to secure your 2020 commemorative coins >>

24 Comments

  1. Silvia Seymour on January 2, 2020 at 5:03 am

    Hi
    I have a bronze 20 pence coin from 1982. I’ve been reading it is rare. What would the value be? Thanks



    • Alexandra Siddons on January 2, 2020 at 10:38 am

      Hi Silvia,

      Wow! That is really exciting if you have found a bronze 20p! Unfortunately we can’t give valuations, but you can send your coin to The Royal Mint for it to be verified as a genuine error.

      Thanks 🙂



  2. Craig on January 2, 2020 at 1:31 am

    I’m hoping and praying these get released into circulation. Awesome designs.



    • Alexandra Siddons on January 2, 2020 at 10:31 am

      Hi Craig!

      It’s great to hear you like the coins! As the 50p from last year’s set went into circulation, we could see a coin from this year’s set follow suit!



  3. Maria on January 1, 2020 at 3:02 pm

    Thank you for sharing.. And having such a wonderful interesting blog.
    Hope I can get a mayflower £2 will go well with my Mary Rose £2.
    Any way Happy New coin Year.



    • Alexandra Siddons on January 2, 2020 at 10:29 am

      It’s great to hear you like the coins Maria! Happy New coin Year to you too 🙂



  4. John Redmond on January 1, 2020 at 1:00 pm

    I AM MORE THAN PLEASED WITH THIS NEW SET OF COINS. THE OLYMPIC 50P IS AN EXCELLENT ADDITION TO ANY COLLECTION, AS IS THE OTHER 4 COINS. THE VICTORY IN EUROPE IS ALSO A REMINDER TO ALL OF THOSE WHO NOT ONLY FAUGHT FOR VICTORY & FREEDOM BUT NEVER SAW IT HAVING LAYED DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR OUR FREEDOM FROM AN OPRESSIVE DICTATORIAL ENEMY, THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU TO THE MINT FOR YET ANOTHER UNFORGETTABLE COLLECTION



    • Alexandra Siddons on January 2, 2020 at 10:29 am

      It’s great to hear you like the set John! There really are some specially anniversaries marked on these coins 🙂



  5. Denise on January 1, 2020 at 12:19 pm

    I’m VERY interested to know which commemorative coins are actually legal tender – after discovering to my horror that the Royal Mint quietly removed the £100 coin, among others, from that list



    • Alexandra Siddons on January 2, 2020 at 10:28 am

      Hi Denise,

      This is a really interesting question!

      According to the Royal Proclamation under the Coinage Act of 1971, the £20 coin, like the £5 coin, and all other United Kingdom coins of the realm, IS legal tender (including commemorative 10p, 50p, £1 or £2 coins in cupro-nickel, silver or bronze). However, while it is legal tender, it has not been designed to be used as a circulating coin. This means that while you could use it in the settlement of debt in court, your local shop or bank probably won’t accept it in trade for goods, as the mechanics and systems are not in place to enable that. The highest denomination coin in general circulation today remains the £2 coin.

      I hope this helps!



  6. Peter Embling on January 1, 2020 at 12:03 pm

    Let’s hope they appear in our change. People need to ask for £2 coins from their shopkeepers so that shopkeepers request £2 change bags from their banks. Don’t let all the good coins go to those that make a business out of doing ‘bank runs’.



  7. Ronnie Maclean on January 1, 2020 at 11:55 am

    Some interesting coins- what happened to Brexit ! Royal Mint getting as bad as the post office for issues.



    • Alexandra Siddons on January 2, 2020 at 10:02 am

      Hi Ronnie,

      It’s really good to hear you like the coins! There are some very significant anniversaries celebrated on them. We will always keep you up to date on any interesting new coin releases! Thanks 🙂



  8. Nicholas Bradbury on January 1, 2020 at 10:24 am

    Can I buy just the new Team GB coin singular on it own?



    • Alexandra Siddons on January 2, 2020 at 10:00 am

      Hi Nicholas,

      You will be able to buy it individually later this year 🙂

      Thanks,
      Alex



  9. Mahendra on January 1, 2020 at 10:03 am

    I’ve many old and rare coins including £2,
    50p, two pennies etc, etc
    If interested then contact me on my email.



  10. Chris Sturgess on January 1, 2020 at 9:50 am

    Hi, I would love to be able to afford to buy this new set. It is just too expensive. The total values of the coins is less than £12.00. Yet you are asking over £40.00. That is just so far out of my reach and I’m sure, plenty of other people too. Why is it so expensive?
    Sadly yours, Chris.



    • Alexandra Siddons on January 2, 2020 at 10:00 am

      Hi Chris,
      The coins in this set come in Brilliant Uncirculated quality, which means they are free from the scuffs and marks that appear on the coins you find in your change. This is the cheapest way to purchase these coins as a set, in this collector favourite condition. These coins will also be available to purchase individually later this year too!
      It also hasn’t been confirmed yet if these coins will be entering circulation. Last year’s 50p went into circulation, so we could see a coin from this set do the same.
      Thanks 🙂



  11. Philip Marsh on January 1, 2020 at 9:09 am

    No point in writing for them to be in your change, I’m still wait to see one of the letter 10p coins. They have been out long enough but I’ve never seen one. Still don’t understand why they haven’t appeared in Bournemouth.



    • Alexandra Siddons on January 2, 2020 at 9:51 am

      Hi Philip, as the A-Z 10p coins have such low mintage figures and are very popular with collectors, they are a little tricky to find! But keep searching, you never know what you’ll come across in your change 🙂



  12. Kathy Bradley on January 1, 2020 at 8:36 am

    Can we buy just the 50p as those are the ones I cilkect



    • Alexandra Siddons on January 2, 2020 at 9:50 am

      Hi Kathy, these coins will be available to buy individually later this year. Thanks 🙂



  13. Kenneth pidgley on January 1, 2020 at 5:46 am

    More coins not going into circulation,time to boycott the royal mint,we are being conned no doubt.



    • Alexandra Siddons on January 2, 2020 at 9:48 am

      Hi Kenneth, it hasn’t been confirmed yet if these coins will be entering circulation. As the 50p from last year’s Annual Coin Set did go into circulation, we could see a coin from this year’s set do the same! Thanks.