Posts Tagged ‘mary anning’
International Women’s Day! Remarkable Women Celebrated on UK Coins…
International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
To celebrate, in this blog we take a closer look at just some of the incredible women who have been commemorated on our UK coins!
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II
Celebrating her Platinum Jubilee in 2022, Queen Elizabeth II is Britain’s longest reigning monarch and the fourth longest reigning monarch in worldwide history!
There have been some incredible coins celebrating Her Majesty, including the recently issued Platinum Jubilee 50p coin – the UK’s FIRST Royal 50p!
This 50p features a reverse design by agency Osborne Ross but, what’s particularly special about this coin is that TWO versions have actually been created…
One includes an obverse design by John Bergdahl featuring the Queen on horseback (pictured left) and the other includes Jody Clark’s obverse of the Queen’s portrait.
QEII is arguably the most loved and respected monarch our country has ever seen so it’s only right on the day we honour the achievements of women throughout history, that we dedicate a portion to Her Majesty.
Dame Vera Lynn
Coined as the ‘Forces Sweetheart’, singer Dame Vera Lynn rose to fame in 1940 with her wartime songs, White Cliffs of Dover, and We’ll Meet Again.
Vera Lynn spent time travelling the world, singing to soldiers who were fighting on front lines.
She risked her life to inspire others when they needed it most and provided comfort to those of wouldn’t survive to return home.
Sadly, in 2020, we received the news that Dame Vera Lynn had passed away. She touched the lives of so many, that Her Majesty the Queen sent a private message of condolence to Dame Vera’s family.
In 2022, The Royal Mint commemorated Dame Vera Lynn’s life and achievements with this brand new £2 coin. Featuring a portrait of the famous singer on the reverse, this £2 is the perfect tribute to one of the UK’s most inspirational women.
Mary Anning
Mary Anning was one of Britain’s greatest fossil hunters and her discoveries were some of the most important geological finds of all time.
Her discoveries of spectacular marine reptiles prompted the scientific community to begin further investigation into explanations for changes in the natural world.
In 2021, a new 50p series was issued to commemorate Anning by The Royal Mint.
These 50p coins, issued in collaboration with the Natural History Museum, feature designs of the Temnodontosaurus, Plesiosaurus and, Dimorphodon – all prehistoric giants discovered by Anning on the Jurassic Coast!
A truly inspiring woman, who pushed for her passion, making important historic discoveries and changes as a result.
Rosalind Franklin
English chemist, Rosalind Franklin sits right at the very heart of the story of DNA.
Her ground-breaking research and inspiring work ethic were central to the discovery of the helical structure of DNA, which was later publicised by Watson and Crick.
Tragically, at the age of just 37, Franklin passed away from ovarian cancer, robbing her of the same awards and recognitions that her colleagues were gifted.
But in 2020, to celebrate what would have been her 100th birthday, she also became the second scientist to be celebrated in The Royal Mint’s Innovation in Science series.
The reverse design of this coin, by David Knapton, features a depiction of her famous Photograph 51, which enabled her to discover the structure of DNA in her laboratory in Cambridge.
Agatha Christie
After the end of the First World War, Christie published her first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
This incredibly popular story introduced readers to one of Christie’s most famous characters – Belgian detective Hercule Poirot*.
Writing well into her later years, Christie wrote more than 70 detective novels as well as short fiction which have been adapted into films, television, and radio programmes.
In 1971, she was made a Dame of the British Empire for her outstanding contribution to Literature.
In 2020, to mark 100 years since her first publication, The Royal Mint celebrated the world’s best-selling novelist with a £2 coin.
David Lawrence’s design of this coin pays homage to Christie’s crime novels, with a piece of a jigsaw slotting into place and her signature at the bottom.
There really have been some incredible women celebrated on our UK coins, and this is just a small selection.
Is there an influential women you’d like to see on our coins in the future? Let us know in the comments below!
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The Giants of the Jurassic – brand new 2021 Mary Anning 50p Collection!
Are you ready to discover the mighty beasts of the sea and sky?
The Royal Mint have revealed a brand new 50p series celebrating Mary Anning and her fossil discoveries on the Jurassic coast.
Dimorphodon 50p
The final coin in the series has JUST been released and it features a design of the Dimorphodon.
The Dimorphodon was a primitive flying reptile that coexisted during the age of the dinosaurs and was first discovered by Mary Anning in Dorset.
Whilst the Dimorphodon’s 1.7m wing-span is impressive, what makes this Jurassic Giant so unique, is that its name literally translates to ‘two-form tooth’. This is due to the Dimorphodon having several large pointed teeth in the front of its jaws and much smaller ones set in the back.
The design of this brand new 50p shows both of these features in perfect detail, with the creature’s wings spanning across nearly the entire diameter of the coin and its sharp teeth in clear view.
This series has proven incredibly popular with collectors, with the Temnodontosaurus and Plesiosaurus 50p coins having taken the collecting world by storm.
Today, you can secure the brand new 2021 UK Dimorphodon 50p for your collection in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for JUST £4.50 (+p&p). To order yours, simply click here >>
What’s more, you can also order the Temnodontosaurus 50p and the Plesiosaurus 50p coins in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
To secure the 2021 UK Plesiosaurus 50p for JUST £4.50 (+p&p), click here >>
To secure the 2021 UK Temnodontosaurus 50p for JUST £4.50 (+p&p), click here >>
Plesiosaurus 50p
The second coin in the series celebrates one of the Jurassic Coast’s greatest marine reptiles, the Plesiosaurus.
The Plesiosaurus was about 4.5 metres in length and is estimated to have weighed about 45 tonnes (that’s about 7 elephants!)
But what makes this Jurassic Giant so unique, is the power of its bite! It’s estimated that the Plesiosaurus had the largest bite force of any known animal and with teeth as sharp as needles, there’s no doubt this reptile dominated the oceans!
If you look closely, you can even see this Jurassic Giant’s teeth in the design of this 50p coin!
To secure your 2021 UK Plesiosaurus 50p in official Change Checker packaging, simply click here >>
Temnodontosaurus 50p
The first coin in the series celebrates Mary Anning’s very first ichthyosaur, the Temnodontosaurus.
The ‘cutting tooth lizard’ (as it’s otherwise known) is one of the largest ichthyosaurs to have been discovered by Mary Anning in Lyme Regis, Dorset.
This apex marine predator hunted in the deep ocean millions of years ago, but now this prehistoric beast has been brought to life once more – its likeness captured in exquisite detail on this brand new 50p.
This was first coin in the series to have been issued and you can secure one for your collection in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for JUST £4.50 (+p&p). To secure yours in official Change Checker packaging, simply click here >>
The Unsung Hero of Fossil Discovery
Mary Anning is remembered as being one of the greatest fossil hunters and paleontologists to have ever lived.
At the start of her career, she claimed her excavations were merely to explore her ‘curiosities’. Later, she was to discover remains of some of the greatest creatures to have ever swam in our shores and soared in our skies.
Famous in her home town of Lyme Regis, Dorset, Anning’s work left a legacy of fossil hunting, paleontology and science.
Dinosaur fans and historians alike, still flock to the seaside town in their thousands every year to learn more about her discoveries and to try and unearth their very own creatures in the sand and rocks!
Sought-after Series
This collection follows in the gigantic footsteps of the 2020 Dinosauria 50p series, which brought us the Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hylaeosaurus 50p coins.
These coins were a definite numismatic highlight of 2020, with collectors quickly snapping up these dino-mite coins for their own collections. This was the FIRST-TIME ever that Dinosaurs featured on a UK coin and this year the theme continues with three prehistoric creatures being celebrated on coins.
In 2021, we get up close and personal with the Jurassic giants of the sea and air, with the Mary Anning 50p Collection.
Each coin in the collection has been designed by renowned British palaeo-artist Robert Nicholls with the expert guidance of Sandra Chapman of the Earth Sciences Department of the Natural History Museum.
It’s fair to say that the influence of the designs from the Natural History Museum will certainly make these coins popular with dinosaur fans and collectors alike!
Will you be securing these coins for your collection?
Let us know in the comments which Mary Anning 50p is your favourite from the collection!
Secure the 2021 Dimorphodon 50p in Brilliant Uncirculated quality!
You can secure the brand new 2021 UK Dimorphodon 50p for your collection in Brilliant Uncirculated quality and in official Change Checker packaging for JUST £4.50 (+p&p) by clicking here >>
You can also order the complete set of three 2021 UK Mary Anning 50p coins by clicking here >>
Jurassic Giants! What we know so far about the 2021 Dinosaur 50p coins…
Are you ready to discover the mighty beasts of the sea and sky?
The Royal Mint has confirmed that a brand new series of 50p coins is set to commemorate Mary Anning and her discovery of the giants of the Jurassic Coast.
Mary Anning is remembered as being one of the greatest fossil hunters and paleontologists to have ever lived. At the start of her career, she claimed her excavations were merely to explore her ‘curiosities’ but later, she was to discover remains of some of the greatest creatures to have ever swam in our shores and soared in our skies.
Famous in her home town of Lyme Regis, Dorset, Anning’s work left a legacy of fossil hunting, paleontology and science. Dinosaur fans and historians alike, still flock to the seaside town in their thousands every year to learn more about her discoveries and to try and unearth their very own creatures in the sand and rocks!
The 2021 Mary Anning Dinosauria Collection is set to be a soaring success as it follows in the huge dinosaur footprints of last year’s Dinosauria 50p series, that introduced us to the Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hylaeosaurus!
Whilst the designs of these coins remain top secret, they have been issued once more in collaboration with the National History Museum so we’re certain they will be dino-mite!
If you want to be one of the very first to secure the 2021 Mary Anning Dinosauria 50p coins for your collection as soon as they become available, for the cheapest available price, you can do so with the Change Checker New Issue Subscription service.
To find out more and to sign-up, simply click here >>