Posts Tagged ‘50p’
Royal Mint announce new coins for 2014…
The new UK coins for 2014 have been revealed, and are set to enter circulation this year. Here we take a closer look at the themes behind them, and why 2014 is another significant year for the coinage of the United Kingdom.
This new WWI £2 will enter circulation in 2014
£2 – The First World War
2014 will of course be the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, and the Royal Mint has committed to a five-year commemoration of the emotive wartime journey from outbreak to armistice. It starts with a £2 coin bearing sculptor John Bergdahl’s depiction of Lord Kitchener’s unmistakable call to arms. The image of the British Secretary of War and his finger pointing at the reader still evokes an enormous sense of British identity and pride, and the coin also features the immortal words YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU.
Trinity House celebrates its 500th anniversary in 2014
£2 – Trinity House
Since being granted a Royal Charter in 1514 by Henry VIII, Trinity House has safeguarded the coastal waters of Britain for over 500 years. Maritime safety became crucial in the 16th Century as Britain began flexing its naval strength overseas. And today, with 95% of the UK’s imports still arriving by sea, the Trinity House pilot ships and lighthouses are still as important today as ever. The reverse design of this new £2 coin features a striking depiction of a lighthouse lens – an enduring symbol of the the safety which Trinity House still provides at sea.
The 2014 Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow
50p – Commonwealth Games
In 1986 the Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, and the £2 of that year became the first coin in British history to commemorate a sporting event. Now, as Scotland gears up for the Games again in 2014, a new 50p to mark the occasion has been announced. The 20th Commonwealth Games will see thousands of athletes competing in 17 sports across 11 days in Glasgow. In this new reverse design, two of the most iconic sports – athletics and cycling – have been combined with a section of the St Andrews cross.
£1 – Floral Emblems
2013 saw the start of a £1 coin series celebrating the floral emblems of the British Isles designed by Timothy Noad. Completing the series in 2014 is the flax plant and shamrock to represent Northern Ireland, whilst the thistle and bluebell are portrayed on the Scottish version.
You can now collect all five designs straight from your change with the FREE Change Checker 2014 Coin Collecting Pack.
New Benjamin Britten 50p set to strike a chord with Change Checkers
The new Benjamin Britten 50p is not likely to be seen in your change until 2014
The Royal Mint’s latest 50p coin is certain to “strike a chord” with Change Checkers.
That’s because it celebrates the centenary of the birth of one of the UK’s most prominent classical composers – Sir Benjamin Britten.
Born in Suffolk on 22 November 1913, Britten studied at the Royal School of Music before going on to write some of the 20th Century’s best known opera, choral and classical pieces, including Peter Grimes (1945), a Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (1945) and the War Requiem (1962).
The new 50p design has been created by another composer and artist, Tom Phillips CBE, RA. Commenting on his design Phillips says: “What I wanted the coin to speak of was music. Thus the stave soon entered the design… and his name married well with the stave. The natural accompaniment with Britten’s passion for poetry as our preeminent composer of opera and song, was some kind of key quotation. The words which eventually suggested themselves, come from the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. What better clarion call for a musical anniversary could there be than “Blow, bugle, blow: set the wild echoes flying?”
Sadly though Change Checkers will have to wait several months until you can hope to see the new Benjamin Britten coin in general circulation.
Please note Change Checker will include the Benjamin Britten 50p coin in its 2014 album supplement, which will be available around February 2014.
Why you should be Checking your Change
I expect that, like me, you were brought up to “check your change”. But it has never meant more than now.
Last year, the Royal Mint launched twenty-nine 50p coins into circulation, one for each of the Olympic disciplines. The result: a nation suddenly keen to check the coins in their pocket, hoping to build a complete collection.
In 20 years in the coin business, it was the very first time I had seen people of all ages genuinely interested by the coins in their change.
But the story should not stop with the Olympic 50p coins.
In fact the Royal Mint has been varying £1 coin designs since the coin was very first issued 30 years ago. Remarkably the 50p first saw a commemorative design in 1973, before they became a regular feature of the UK’s coinage during the 1990s. Similarly, £2 coins were used for commemorative coins as early as 1986, well before the current bi-metallic coin, which went into circulation in 1997, with its first commemorative design being released in 1999 for the Rugby World Cup.
The only collection that will cost you nothing
Of course the joy of change collecting is that it is totally free. Simply keep an eye on the coins in your change and very quickly you’ll own an historic collection of some the UK’s finest coin designs.
But now it is even easier to collect the coins in your pocket with the launch of www.changechecker.org. This completely FREE site is available for mobiles, tablets and PC to help you collect your pocket change wherever you are.
Simply identify your coin by denomination and year to keep track of whether you already own it or not. Plus, if it’s a spare, you can quickly and easily find someone to swap your coin with. All without spending a penny (or any other denomination come to that).
Click here to visit www.changechecker.org.
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