2020 Change Checker Awards NOW OPEN!

We’re delighted to announce the 2020 Change Checker Awards in association with All About Coins, where we’ll be celebrating the very best of the change collecting world from 2020!

We’re looking for the 2020 Change Checker of the Year and the 2020 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.

Send an email outlining why your family or friend[s] deserve to win this coveted award to [email protected].

Alternatively, you can submit your entry using the sign-up form at the bottom of this blog. 

Finally, you can leave a comment on any of our social media pages but be sure to use the hashtag #CCAwards2020.

To qualify for Junior Change Checker of the year the application must be aged 16 or younger. The closing date for entries is 5pm on Friday 4th December.

vector silhouette boy girl white background 47382423 - 2017 Change Checker Awards

All entries will be judged by our panel and the results announced on Wednesday 9th 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!

Categories

The other categories that make up the Change Checker Awards are:

  • Coin Story of the Year 2020 – chosen by our panel.
  • Top 3 Pieces of 2020 Coin Art – judged by our panel and chosen from your email submissions and social media posts. To submit your coin art, please email [email protected]
Example of Change Checker Coin Art
  • UK Coin Design of the Year 2020 – judged by you!

UK Coin Design of the Year 2020

Votes for the Top UK Coin Design of the Year has now closed.


The winners for all Change Checker Award categories will be announced on the 9th December.

Good Luck!

Submissions for the 2020 Change Checker of the Year nomination have now closed. Tune in on the 9th December to find out the winners.


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 2020 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.

If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:

– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers

2018 Change Checker Awards

Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app

It’s all change for the 50ps! Your Scarcity Index…

It’s time for your latest Scarcity Index update, where we’ll reveal the UK’s most sought-after circulation coins of the last three months! And it’s all change again for the 50ps this quarter, as one coin drops a huge 15 places!

With less cash being used because of the current climate, it’s likely this is affecting collecting and it seems this has exposed some new trends on the indexes!

You can use the updated A-Z 10p, 50p and £2 indexes below to discover how sought-after the coins in your collection really are.

This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre and presented in the easy to use indexes below, with arrows to signify how many places up or down a coin has moved since the last Scarcity Index.

A-Z 10p Scarcity Index

Well we’ve seen another big mix up for the latest A-Z 10p Scarcity Index update, with our biggest climber, M for Mackintosh, jumping up a huge 12 places!

In our last Scarcity Index, we saw the Tea 10p take the top spot for the first time and it’s retained its title this quarter, closely followed by Y for Yeoman Warder.

Other big movers include the H for Houses of Parliament and F for Fish and Chips, both moving down 16 places towards the bottom of the index.

Regardless of where they feature on the above index, if you have any of the A-Z 10ps in your collection you should consider yourself lucky, as they are particularly hard to come by in circulation and each design has a relatively low mintage (just 220,000 of each design released in 2018 and 2.1 million overall in 2019).

50p Scarcity Index

Previously the Football 50p had held second spot behind the most sought-after 50p in circulation, the Kew Gardens, but we saw it drop last quarter, and this Index, it’s similar story! The Judo, Triathlon and Wrestling 50ps have now all bumped the Football 50p to fifth spot.

This update sees a huge jump for Taekwondo, jumping up 11 places and landing it in our top 10. There are big changes for the Wheelchair Rugby and Athletics 50ps too, dropping 15 and 11 respectively.

Since our last Scarcity Index update, we’ve seen the 2018 Peter Rabbit drop 3 places but the 2018 Flopsy Bunny 50p has jumped up 2 spots. As the two rarest Beatrix Potter 50ps in circulation, it’s interesting to see them shuffle once more. These coins are definitely the ones to watch…

£2 Scarcity Index

For the first time in recent updates, the Commonwealth Games coins have been disrupted at the top of the index. The Olympic Handover has bumped the Commonwealth Games Wales £2 out of the top 4, moving up a place.

As for the rest of the index, there’s been a substantial amount of reshuffling. The Shakespeare Tragedies has dropped 11 places, whilst the First World War (Navy) is up 3!

After the announcement that there are no plans to issue any £2 coins into circulation for the next 10 years, it’s likely we’ll see a further shuffle to the £2 Index over the next few quarters.

How your Scarcity Index works

Generally collectors have had to rely upon mintage figures to identify the scarcest coins.  But they only tell part of the story.  Trying to find a good quality coin from 15 – 20 years ago, even for a higher mintage issue, is much more challenging than a more recent issue, as coins become damaged over time and are ultimately removed from circulation.

Additionally, some designs are more hoarded than others by people who might not normally collect coins – the poignant First World War £2 Coin series being an example. Finally, it can be up to a couple of years before the Royal Mint eventually confirms the actual mintage for an issue.

That’s why we have combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information.

  • How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin.
  • The number of times a design has been requested as a swap over the previous 3 months, showing the current level of collector demand.

Importantly, as new coins are released and popularity rises and falls across different designs the Scarcity Index will be updated quarterly allowing Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.

How much are my coins worth?

The Scarcity Index does not necessarily equate to value but it is certainly an effective indicator.  For example, the Kew Gardens 50p coin commands a premium of up to 200 times face value on eBay.

You can use the 6 point guide to help you determine a more realistic value for your coins.

What about £1 Coins?

The £1 Scarcity Index has already been published for the Round £1 coins and, because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.


Secure the Ultimate A-Z 10p Collector’s Kit to your collection!

Secure yours for £30 (+p&p) by clicking here >>

The 2018 UK A-Z 10p Collector’s Kit gives you everything you need to collect, display, and protect your collection of A-Z 10p coins as you find them in your change.

Secure your kit today! Click here >>

Exciting Upcoming Coin Releases!

We’ve been keeping our eyes on the latest Royal Proclamations and excitingly for collectors, there are some new coins on the horizon!

I’m sure you’re just as excited as I am to hear which themes we can expect for these coins, including those of the 2021 issues!

*** UPDATE ***

As of the Royal Proclamation issued on 18th December 2020, it has been confirmed that a brand new 50p will be released next year commemorating Charles Babbage, the English polymath. Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer and is considered by some to be “father of the computer”.

The coin is said feature to the inscription “CHARLES BABBAGE” accompanied by numbers representing the name Babbage in numerical code. Whilst the actual design remains top secret, we’re certainly excited for this coin’s release!

As of the Royal Proclamation issued on the 13th November 2020, it has been confirmed that a number of £5 coins will be released next year and, excitingly for collectors, there will also me a continuation of the Dinosauria 50p series which was a roaring success in 2020!

Collectors of royalty £5s will be pleased to hear that a new £5 coin is being issued featuring the Royal Cypher and the inscription “MY HEART AND MY DEVOTION” alongside the date of the Queen’s birth and the year 2021.

What’s more, the royal theme continues with the tenth coin in the Queen’s Beasts series, the Griffin of Edward III.

A further two £5 coins have also been announced – one commemorating the Saxon King, Alfred the Great and the other celebrating The Royal Albert Hall, with the inscription “INSPIRING ARTS AND SCIENCES”.

To make sure you don’t miss out on adding these coins to your collection as soon as they are released, you can sign up to the Change Checker £5 Subscription Service here >>

Last year’s Dinosauria 50p collection shook the coin collecting world and this year we’re in for a real treat as a further three coins have just been announced!

Each 50p celebrates the Jurassic Coast discoveries made by English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist, Mary Anning.

The coins are set to feature the Temnodontosaurus, Plesiosaurus and Dimorphodon – fantastic creatures that walked the Earth millions of years ago.

Don’t miss your chance to secure these incredible coins for your collection! Sign up to the Change Checker UK New Issue Subscription Service here and never miss another release >>

David Bowie £5

The Royal Proclamation issued on 16th October 2020, confirms that a David Bowie £5 will be issued this year.

David Bowie. Credit: Wikimedia Commons – RCA Records

Images of the Silver Proof version of the coins have been released and we think the coin looks amazing! It features a portrait of David Bowie himself set against a blue and red lightning bolt, synonymous with the musician and his Aladdin Sane era. We can’t wait to see the BU version when the coin is released!

We can assume this coin will be the latest release in the incredibly popular Music Legends series, in which we’ve already seen a Queen £5 and an Elton John £5 coin.

If you want to make sure you never miss out on owning future new UK £5 issue at the initial release price of just £10.99, including the upcoming 2020 David Bowie £5, you can register for the Change Checker £5 Subscription here >>

Sir Walter Scott £2

It has also been confirmed that a £2 coin will be issued in 2021 commemorating the 250th anniversary of the birth of novelist, historian, and poet, Sir Walter Scott.

Portrait of Sir Walter Scott. Credit: Wikimedia Commons – The Bridgeman Art Library

The coin’s complete design remains a secret, but we do know it will feature the text: “SIR WALTER SCOTT NOVELIST HISTORIAN POET” encircled by the inscription “250TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH” and the year date.

Excitingly, this coin will also feature the edge inscription, “THE WILL TO DO, THE SOUL TO DARE”, a quote from his epic poem, ‘Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field’.

H. G. Wells £2

A second £2 coin has been confirmed for 2021, commemorating the life and works of H.G Wells.

H.G. Wells. Credit: Wikimedia Commons – Gutenberg.org repost.

Herbert George Wells was an English novelist, sociologist, and historian, best-known for his sci-fi thrillers War of the Worlds, and The Invisible Man.

We can’t wait to see the design for this £2 as The Royal Proclamation alludes to a depiction of the Invisible Man and a Martian encircled by clock numerals. The coin is said to have an inscription which reads “GOOD BOOKS ARE THE WAREHOUSES OF IDEAS”.

John Logie Baird 50p

A 50p has been confirmed for 2021, commemorating Scottish engineer, John Logie Baird, who was the first person to demonstrate a working television.

John Logie Baird and his first publicly demonstrated television system. Credit: Wikimedia Commons – Popular Radio Magazine.

The design of the 50p features the inscription “JOHN LOGIE BAIRD TELEVISION PIONEER” accompanied by a depiction of a television mast emitting circular radio waves with a range of dates relating to John Logie Baird‘s discovery and developments.

Decimal Day 50p

2021 will mark 50 years since decimalisation and as of the Royal Proclamation, it looks as though we’ll be seeing a special 50p to commemorate the anniversary.

Decimal Posters. Credit: The Royal Mint Museum.

The design of the coin is suggested to feature the inscription ‘Decimal Day 1971’ to mark the anniversary.

Given the popularity of the coins issued in 2019 to mark the 50th Anniversary of the 50p, this coin is sure to be sought-after amongst collectors and we can’t wait to see it!

2021 Team GB 50p

Following the announcement earlier this year that the individual release of the 2020 Team GB 50p would be postponed in accordance with the rescheduling of the Olympic Games, the Royal Proclamation confirms we will see a 2021 dated Team GB coin.

It seems as though the design of the 2020 coin will be replicated for 2021, with the exception of the new 2021 date.

Excitingly, this will mean that there are two versions of the coin – one with the obverse dated 2020 from this year’s Annual Coin Set and one with the obverse dated 2021 for next year’s individual release.


We certainly can’t wait to find out more about these coins, but if you want to make sure you don’t miss out on owning them as soon as they’re released, you can sign up to our Change Checker subscriptions service!


The Change Checker UK CERTIFIED BU Subscription Service

Don’t miss your chance to get ahead of the crowd and be one of the very first collectors to receive the latest UK new issue coins as soon as possible after their release.

Find out more about the Change Checker subscription service and how to sign up here >>