Posts Tagged ‘10p Coins’

Victory in Europe Day – more commonly known as VE Day – is celebrated across Europe and America as the official end of the Second World War.

Following the Allies’ acceptance of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender on the 8^th May 1945, the war had finally come to a close after a long five years.

This year marks a particularly poignant anniversary as we celebrate 75 years since VE Day. Many celebrations had been scheduled to mark this joyous occasion, including rescheduling the Early May Bank Holiday to the 8^th.

Although, sadly, many of these celebrations have now been cancelled this does not detract from the significance of this historic anniversary.

To mark this momentous occasion, The Royal Mint have issued a brand new £2 coin, commemorating 75 years since VE Day.

So, we thought we’d take this opportunity to look a closer look at this brand new £2 and the other UK coins which tell the story of Britain’s warfare history.

2020 Victory in Europe £2

Issued by The Royal Mint, the brand new 2020 VE Day £2 features a woman holding a newspaper aloft in a crowd of celebrating people, set against a backdrop of the word VICTORY.

The edge inscription reads ‘JUST TRIUMPH AND PROUD SORROW’.

The coin, designed by Dominuqe Evans, has been available as part of the 2020 Annual Coin set since January, however has just been released for individual sale.

The unique design and poignant anniversary year makes us think this brand new release is certain to be popular with collectors, so if you want to get your hands on one, just click here.

1995 Dove £2

This old-style £2 was issued in 1995 to mark 50 years since the end of the Second World War.

The reverse design, by John Mills, features a dove as a symbol of peace since the end of the war. The edge inscription reads ‘1945 IN PEACE GOODWILL 1995’, highlighting fifty years since the truce.

One of only seven commemorative £2 coins to be issued in the older specifications before the change in 1997, the Dove £2 has a mintage of 4,394,566 – the third highest of the seven.

2005 St. Paul’s Cathedral £2

In 2005, The Royal Mint issued a second £2 in the new bi-metallic specifications to commemorate 60 years since the end of the war.

Interestingly, the reverse design depicts St. Paul’s Cathedral. This is because the cathedral was one of only a few structures which survived the Blitz to become a great symbol of hope to a war-torn nation.

The edge inscription reads ‘IN VICTORY: MAGNAMITY, IN PEACE: GOODWILL’ which is part of the famous maxim that prefaces Churchill’s history of the Second World War.

This coin has a staggeringly high mintage of 10,191,000, meaning it ranks as ‘Common’ on the Change Checker Scarcity Index.

2015 Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain was an intense air battle fought mainly throughout the summer of 1940 between Germany and Britain.

To commemorate 75 years since the great battle, The Royal Mint issued a commemorative 50p.

Designed by sculptor Gary Breeze, this coin quickly gained interest from collectors due to the three different obverses when it was initially minted. You can find out more about that here.

This coin was also re-issued in 2019 as part of the 50^th Anniversary of the 50p celebrations in the Military History 50p Collection.

2019 D-Day £2

Last year, The Royal Mint issued a £2 coin commemorating the 75^th Anniversary of D-Day, the largest seaborne invasion in history.

The invasion took place on the 6^th June 1944 and began the liberation of German occupied France and laid the foundations for the Allied Victory.

Initially issued as part of the 2019 Annual Coin Set, the D-Day £2 was favoured among collectors last year for its innovative design by Stephen Taylor.

The reverse features arrows pointing across the English Channel to Normandy; each arrow has one of the five code-names for the beaches where Allied Troops landed: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

Released last year, this £2 coin has not entered general circulation yet.

And there we have it! It’s fair to say the UK has a great history of celebrating important warfare anniversaries on our coinage, and they certainly are popular with our collectors!

Do you have a favourite warfare anniversary coin? Let us know in the comments below!

Secure the BRAND NEW UK VE Day £2 Coin

To add the BRAND NEW 2020 UK VE Day £2 Coin to your collection, in superior Brilliant Uncirculated Quality, today for JUST £8.99 (+p&p) click here >>