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!


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The Queen £5 coin – What we know so far…

*** UPDATE ***

Following the Royal Proclamation on the 8th November, The Royal Mint have now confirmed there will be a Music Legends coin series!

It’s safe to assume Queen will be part of this series, but who else would you like to see on a Music Legends coin? Let us know in the comments below and sign up for updates at the bottom of the blog!


As of the Royal Proclamations issued on 8th November 2019, a very exciting United Kingdom £5 coin has been confirmed for 2020.

The reverse design is said to feature ‘a keyboard, drum, bass and electric guitar accompanied by a microphone and the inscription “QUEEN”‘.

This is the first time a band has been commemorated on a UK coin which makes this announcement particularly exciting.

At the moment, the designs are still top secret but you can fill in our sign-up form below to stay up-to-date with all the latest news about this release.

Stay up to date with all the latest Queen £5 news…

Fill in your details below to be kept up to date with all the latest news about the 2020 Queen £5 coin.

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

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The 2020 designs – what to expect from next year’s coins

***UPDATE***

As of The Royal Proclamations issued on 11th October 2019, a further two new coins have been confirmed for release next year…

A new £2 coin will be issued to celebrate 100 Years of Agatha Christie’s mystery novels. .

2020 Agatha Christie £2

The design is said to feature a nearly completed jigsaw puzzle with the final piece ready to be inserted, and the inscription ‘1920 100 YEARS OF MYSTERY 2020′.

Agatha Christie published her first novel ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’ in 1920, which introduced detective Hercule Poirot, who became a long-running character in Christie’s work. In total, the detective features in 33 novels and 54 short stories!

Following the incredible popularity of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 50p featuring fictional-detective Sherlock Holmes and the Samuel Pepys’ £2 in the 2019 Annual Coin set, we can’t wait to see another great British writer celebrated on UK coinage.

2020 75th Anniversary of VE Day £2

A further £2 coin will also be issued with the inscription ‘VICTORY IN EUROPE DAY‘ to commemorate 75 years since VE Day and the end of the second world war.

VE Day is commonly used to refer to Victory Day in Europe which celebrates the formal acceptance of the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on 8 May 1945, marking the end of the war.

Featuring a woman holding a newspaper aloft in crowd of celebrating people, set against a backdrop of the word VICTORY, this new £2 coin will mark a pivotal moment in British history.

Excitingly, this new £2 will also have an edge inscription reading ‘JUST TRIUMPH AND PROUD SORROW’.

Remember, you can sign-up for all our latest 2020 coin news using the sign-up for below!


The Royal Proclamation published on 12th July 2019 has officially revealed three new coins which will be released next year...

Last week we shared the news about the 2020 Team GB 50p coin, which is sure to be a firm favourite amongst collectors, especially following the resounding popularity of the 2012 Olympic 50ps.

The new Team GB 50p will be issued by The Royal Mint next year to support Great Britain in the Tokyo Olympic Games.

However, we also have another two coins to look forward to, including a Mayflower £2 coin and a George III £5 coin.

2020 Mayflower £2

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

102 Pilgrims and around 30 crew aboard the ship spent two months at sea, battling against the North Atlantic wind on their journey to America.

Upon arrival, the Mayflower Compact was signed, allowing the English Puritan settlers to establish the first permanent New England colony.

To celebrate this important anniversary, The Royal Mint will be issuing a Mayflower £2 coin in 2020.

Mayflower Trial £2

Did you know that back in 1994 The Royal Mint created the first trial bi-metallic £2 coins and these actually featured the Mayflower ship on the design?

There were just over 4,500 packs issued which makes it an incredibly rare example of a bi-metallic £2 coin. More than 100 times rarer than the UK’s rarest £2 coin in circulation, the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games.

Because of this, it can sell on the secondary market for well into three figures.

It will certainly be very interesting to see how the design of the 2020 coin compares to this 1994 trial piece.

2020 George III £5

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

He ruled the two countries separately until their union in 1801, after which his reign continued until his death in 1820.

George’s life and reign were longer than any British monarch before him, although his last 10 years were fraught with mental illness, resulting in his eldest son George IV ruling as Prince Regent.

To celebrate the life of George III, The Royal Mint will be issuing a new £5 coin in 2020.

Stay up to date with all the latest 2020 coin news…

At the moment the designs are still top secret, but we can’t wait to see what the 2020 coins will look like!

Fill in your details below to be kept up to date with all the latest news about the 2020 coins.

2020 Annual Coins sign up

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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

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