Posts Tagged ‘collection’
Your favourite coin design of 2017 revealed!
We know how much you love a new coin design so earlier this month we asked you to vote for your favourite 2017 release.
This turned into a hotly contested 3 horse race between the Jane Austen £2, the Sir Isaac Newton 50p and the WWI Aviation £2 coin. But there could only be one winner and the coin you chose was…
THE SIR ISAAC NEWTON 50p!
Sir Isaac Newton is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and a key figure in the scientific revolution. He changed our understanding of mathematics and physics, redefined the way we see the world and shaped the security of our currency in his role as Master of the Mint. Designed by Aaron West, this 50p coin has been issued to commemorate the achievements of Sir Isaac Newton and remembers the legacy he left.
In total there were over 900 votes with only 29 votes separating the top 3:
Here’s a full breakdown of the results so you can see how the other designs fared:
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
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app
UPDATE: How rare is my coin? The complete Change Checker guide to UK coin mintages
In 2016, we took a look at the mintage figures of all 50p, £1 and £2 coins that have been released. As always, ‘The Change Checker guide to UK coin mintages’ is THE place to check how rare your coins are! Here are the charts listing each coin in order of its rarity.
The Kew Gardens 50p coin remains top of the chart and doesn’t look as though it’ll be shifted any time soon!
Due to the high number of commemorative designs, no definitive design 50p coins were struck for circulation in 2016. Of those commemorative designs, the Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit 50p has the highest mintage with 9.6 million pieces. However, some collectors may struggle to complete their Beatrix Potter set as it’s been revealed that only 2.1 million Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p coins were struck, making it the second most scarce commemorative 50p design (excluding the Olympic 50p series)! Squirrel Nutkin has also made it into the top 10 rare 50ps with a mintage of 5 million.
2016 was the first year since 1983 that no round £1 coins were struck for circulation due to the release of the new 12-sided £1 coin, as a result, this chart is now set in stone and the 2011 Edinburgh coin will remain the target for all round £1 coin collectors. But they’ll have to act quickly – along with the other round £1 coins it will disappear from circulation forever on 15th October.
The 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 still remains the only £2 coin to have a mintage of less that 500,000, placing it firmly at the top of the chart.
From the 2016 designs, the First World War Army £2 coin has a very high mintage figure with over 9.5million pieces being struck, making it the second most common commemorative £2 coin ever.
Interestingly, the three Shakespeare £2 coins, ‘Comedies‘, ‘Histories‘ and ‘Tragedies‘ each have a different mintage figure. Over 1.3 million fewer ‘Comedies’ coins were struck than ‘tragedies’, likely having an impact on collectability in the future.
You’ll notice that the Britannia £2 coin isn’t listed, this is because it is a definitive design, however the mintage increased to just over 3.5 million.
It will be very interesting to see how these coins fare in our updated Scarcity Indexes which will be released in July, so keep your eyes peeled for any changes.
And keep hold of your coins – you never know what they might be worth in the future! Remember you can Find, Collect and Swap all your coins for FREE with the Change Checker App: http://www.changechecker.org
Recent £2 coin issues ranked amongst the most sought after by new Scarcity Index
Change Checker has released the first-ever scarcity index for £2 circulating coins. Following the recently published indexes for the Round £1 Coin and 50p Coin, the Scarcity Index tracks which £2 coins are the most scarce and collectable, using a unique combination of mintage, collecting and swap data to give the most up-to-date picture of today’s £2 collecting market.
Recent Issues are a hit with collectors
Recent releases have proved a hit with collectors
Whilst all the mintage information is still not available for these issues, intense swap demand and limited numbers of collectors who list the coins in their collections, suggest they may number amongst some of the more sought after issues for years to come– surely a reflection of the UK public’s ever increasing interest in new coin issues.
Commonwealth Games tops the charts
The four Commonwealth Games £2 coins top the Scarcity index
However, it’s the 2002 Commonwealth Games £2 Coin that tops the new Scarcity Index. Whilst almost 2,500,000 £2 coins were issued for the Games, it is only the most eagle-eyed collectors who fully understand the reason for their scarcity.
That’s because there is not just one Commonwealth Games £2 coin but in fact four different designs – only identified by a hardly distinguishable cameo design represented each of the UK’s constituent nations, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.
The result is that rather than 2,500,000 coins being issued, the mintages range between 485,500 and 771,500, helping to cement the coins’ position at the top of £2 Scarcity Index.
How the 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 recent 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 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 coin commands a premium of 15 to 20 times face value of eBay.
As for the more recent issues that have made the top 10, it is perhaps too early to tell. But what is clear, is that more and more of the British public are checking their change in the hope of finding interesting or rare coins in their pocket – perhaps even the Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 coin – you just have to be sharp-eyed.
What about £1 and 50p 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. You can also visit the Change Checker 50p Scarcity Index, which will continue to be updated quarterly.
