£5 Coins
£5 Coins – My top 5 designs
The UK £5 coin is legal tender, but you won’t ever find one in your change. They were first issued in 1990 and are usually reserved for commemorating Royal occasions. But many others also commemorate significant British anniversaries, and they are a favourite among collectors because of their interesting and powerful designs. I’ve picked out my top five here.
The Millennium £5 with Millennium Dome mintmark
In the build up to the New Year’s Eve in 1999 these coins were widely given as a souvenir of the historic moment we shared when the clock ticked over into the new millennium. Jeffrey Matthews captured this perfectly with his clock hands passing through Greenwich, positioned at midnight. A limited number of these £5 coins were struck at the Millennium Dome and bear a small Dome mintmark (circled). You can count yourself lucky if you’ve got one of these rarer and more valuable versions!
Trafalgar £5 featuring HMS Victory
One of the greatest landmarks in British history, the Battle of Trafalgar was fought on 21st October 1805. The Royal Mint marked the bicentenary with two £5 coins. The first of these designs by Clive Duncan, shows Nelson’s flagship Victory leading the fleet into battle. HMS Victory is in service to this day as the flagship of the Commander-In-Chief, moored in Portsmouth dockyard.
Entente Cordiale £5
The Entente Cordiale was a series of agreements between Brtiain and France which ended nearly a millennium of intermittent conflict between the two countries. To mark the centenary in 2004 the Royal Mint released this commemorative £5 coin. The reverse design by David Gentleman features an unusual and striking combined image of Britannia and her French counterpart, Marianne, to symbolise the bond between Britain and France.
Restoration of the Monarchy £5
2010 Restoration of the Monarchy £5
In 1649, following the English Civil War and the subsequent execution of Charles I, the British monarchy was abolished and the kingdom became a republic with a new government presiding – the ‘Protectorate’ – led by Oliver Cromwell. This £5 coin issued in 2010 marks the 350th anniversary of the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II in 1660. The reverse design features a simplified version of Charles’ crown with the inclusion of oak leaves. Amidst the oak leaves the coin also features a rose and thistles representing England and Scotland respectively.
The Official Olympic £5
This is the Official Olympic £5 coin issued for London 2012, and aside from being a piece of Olympic memorabilia, what sets it apart from other £5 coins is that it was designed by a member of the public. The design was chosen as part of the Royal Mint’s nationwide competition open to art and design students in higher education. Saiman Miah’s creative idea features the iconic buildings of the London skyline and the River Thames within a central circle. The outer ring features pictograms in the style of a clock face, representing various sports at the London 2012 Games.
How many have you got in your collection?
Available in the Change Checker Shop
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The Royal Mint Coin Packs which look destined to become rarities
As every collector knows, an error can add significant value to a coin. You only need to look at the undated 20p saga to realise just how much impact a simple human mistake can have. Those 20p coins with a mismatching obverse and reverse still frequently sell for as much as £50.
But sometimes it also pays to look further than the coin itself for such slip-ups.
Brilliant Uncirculated presentation packs, or BU Packs, are issued annually by the Royal Mint and are a collector’s item in their own right. They contain a full set of uncirculated coins for the year, along with illustrated packaging and more information about each coin.
These packs are equally prone to human errors, and this year has already been an eventful one in that respect.
In fact neither of the £5 coins in the 2015 BU Packs have edge inscriptions
2015 Annual Coin Set
If you were among the first collectors to secure a 2015 UK Coin Pack from the Royal Mint, the likelihood is you’ve been sent one with a printed error.
The specification in these original packs states an edge inscription for both the Battle of Waterloo and the Churchill commemorative £5 coins, but in fact both of these base metal coins have milled edges with no inscription. Once the Royal Mint were made aware of the error, the packaging was promptly changed to remove the text, but of course a significant number of packs had already slipped the net.
The New Portrait BU Pack
A watermark was overlooked in this image of the Queen and Prince Philip
The latest presentation pack was issued recently to mark Jody Clark’s new effigy of the Queen, with all coins featuring his new portrait.
Again, if you were quick to snap up one of these packs you may have noticed a couple of mistakes which were overlooked in production.
The first is an errant photographic library watermark which somehow found its way onto the final packaging, and appears in an image of the Queen and Prince Philip.
Ian Rank-Broadley is mistakenly named as the obverse designer
The second and more surprising mistake to look out for is the specification on the reverse stating Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS rather than Jody Clark as the obverse designer of the new coins.
At the time of writing, we understand the Royal Mint has withdrawn the pack from sale and are awaiting a re-print.
For now, it is impossible to say precisely how rare these packs are, and it is unlikely that the Royal Mint will ever disclose the exact number.
It’s normal to feel short-changed if you’ve bought any item which has a defect. However, if you have recently added one of these error packs to your collection, you have actually secured something which is quite special to collectors, and may turn out to be highly prized in years to come.
Churchill – the only statesman commemorated on THREE British Crowns
On the morning of 24 January 1965, the tolling of St Paul’s Cathedral’s state bell ‘Great Tom’ signalled to a grieving nation that a great man was gone. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill died at the age of 90.
Churchill became the first non-Royal to be portrayed on a British coin following his death in 1965
Since his death, Churchill has become a prominent figure in numismatic history and is the only person outside of the Royal family to be commemorated on a Crown coin on no less than three separate occasions.
In 1965, a whole nation mourned the loss of the politician, writer, orator and the man who exemplified the Allies’ stance against the Nazi threat in the Second World War.
Buried in a country churchyard near Blenheim Palace where he was born, the Queen had attended Churchill’s state funeral in London, the first afforded to a commoner in more than a century.
Churchill was portrayed on this coin during the build up to London 2012 to represent courage.
To celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Royal Mint issued this limited edition £5 coin. Featuring an instantly recognisable portrait of the great man, the coin was issued during Britain’s build up to the London Olympic and Paralympic games to capture the spirit of pride in our nation.
Churchill was a man of many talents and was renowned throughout the world as a great statesman. Educated at Harrow School and Sandhurst Military Academy, his military service included Malakand and the Nile. During the Boer war, as a war journalist, he was captured but escaped.
Sir Winston Churchill died on 24th January 1965
He was Prime Minister and held various important positions including Colonial Under-Secretary, President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War and Air, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and remained as a back bencher after 1955.
He was a talented painter and author of a number of important books, including “History of the English Speaking Peoples” in four volumes. His love of good cigars, vintage wines and fine brandy has become legendary. He never exercised and referred to his periods of severe depression as his ‘black dog’.
But his world vision, his charisma and his qualities of leadership are acknowledged to have helped to ensure that Britain survived the Second World War.
Issued to commemorate 50 years since the death of the legendary statesman.
In 2015, a half-century after the death of Winston Churchill, this £5 coin was issued to honour a man who holds an unrivaled place in history.
Featuring the engraved portrait of Winston Churchill by Mark Richards FRBS, who wanted to convey Churchill as larger than life by creating an image larger than the coin itself.
A tribute to Winston Churchill
This Churchill crown has become one of the most famous British coins of the last century and is available to add to your collection now.