Posts Tagged ‘numismatics’
Straight from darkest Peru and into your pocket, the nation’s favourite bear is finally on sale!
Earlier this year, we announced the exciting news that the UK’s incredibly popular Beatrix Potter 50p coins are to be followed up by two new Paddington™ 50 pence coins.
It’s now with great anticipation that we can reveal the first Paddington coin has been officially released!
Celebrating the very British bear
The coins have been issued to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Paddington’s first adventure and this first design is based on the modern adaptation from the CGI-live action movie, featuring Paddington on his suitcase in front of the station and excitingly, one more Paddington 50p coin will also be released by The Royal Mint later this year and this coin will feature the bear waving a Union Flag outside Buckingham Palace.
Of course fans of the movie Paddington 2, will also remember a 50p coin playing an important part in his adventure.
Not the first Paddington coin…
Whilst this is not the first time Paddington has appeared on a coin, it is his first time appearing on official UK coinage.
The nation’s loveable bear has previously featured on 1 crown (25p) coins from both Isle of Man and Gibraltar – now listed for as much £30 on eBay.
Due to the popularity of these coins, and the whole new generation of collectors created by the Beatrix Potter 50ps, it is expected that these coins will be extremely sought-after by collectors and Paddington fans alike.
These coins will be available in Brilliant Uncirculated collector’s edition, with coloured Silver and even Gold versions also being made available.
Paddington at the Station 50p, now available to own!
You can now own the FIRST EVER UK 2018 Paddington 50p Coin in superior collector quality.
Happy Birthday to the £2 coin!
Today marks 20 years since the bi-metallic £2 coins were released into circulation. So to celebrate our much loved £2 coins, we’ve taken a look back at the history of the £2 coin.
£2 coins have been in circulation since 1986, when a commemorative coin was issued to mark the XIII Commonwealth Games. Although these coins are legal tender, they were never common in everyday circulation.
Commonwealth Games £2 issued in 1986.
Following a review of the United Kingdom’s coinage, the decision was made that a general-circulation £2 coin was needed and so the new bi-metallic coin was introduced on the 15th June 1998.
This was the first time bi-metallic coinage was used in the UK.
The first ‘Technology’ £2 coins were designed by Bruce Rushin using concentric circles to represent mankind’s technological evolution from the Iron Age at the centre, to the cogs and wheels in the first ring representing the Industrial Revolution. The next ring symbolises the computer age with a pattern derived from a silicon chip and the final outer ring represents the age of the Internet with a connecting web of lines.
The ‘Technology’ coin was the first bi-metallic £2 and was designed by Bruce Rushin
The Queen with a Necklace £2
The first of these ‘Technology’ £2 coins were actually dated 1997 which earned the coin the nickname the ‘Queen with a Necklace’ £2 which has an enduring legacy in the collecting world. As the first bi-metallic £2 coins were issued in 1997, just prior to the Queen’s portrait change in 1998, this meant that the older portrait by Raphael Maklouf was only used for one year: 1997.
1997 ‘Queen with a necklace’ portrait designed by Raphael Maklouf.
His version featured Queen Elizabeth II wearing a necklace, which is how the nickname was derived and they were snapped up by collectors on release in the belief they would go on to become a future rarity. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case and as it turned out, the coin had a mintage of nearly 14 million.
There are a few stories which crop up more often than others, and to help dispel some of the myths about the £2 coins you can find in your change, you can read our blog here.
This Technology design was used on £2 coins every year from 1997 until 2015 when it was replaced by Britannia. Britannia has a long standing history with British coinage having first appeared on a 1672 Farthing during the reign of Charles II. Antony Dufort’s modern interpretation of Britannia features on Britain’s highest denomination circulating coin, the £2, which was a very popular move from The Royal Mint.
What’s so special about the 2015 Britannia £2?
Antony Dufort’s modern interpretation of Britannia.
However, it wasn’t until 2016 when The Mint released the mintage figures for the 2015 coins that the real surprise was unveiled.
Only 650,000 of the 2015 date Britannia £2 coins had been stuck for circulation, making it one of the most scarce UK £2 coins ever! So scarce in fact that there were fewer of this coin than the England and the Scotland coins from the famous 2002 Commonwealth Games series.
The UK 2015 Britannia £2 Coin
Own one of the most-scarce circulating £2 coins ever issued
This first-year 2015 £2 Britannia is already one of the most-scarce circulating £2 coins ever issued with just 650,000 coins passing through banks and cash centres.
That places it third equal in the all-time low mintage charts!
Why you mustn’t pay £1,000 (or even £16,000) on ebay for the new Paddington 50p…
There’s been much excitement this week for Change Checkers following the accidental early release of a small number of new Paddington 50p coins.
Paddington at the Station BU 50p – Available to order from the 18th June.
The first coins were discovered late last week and quickly made their way onto collectors’ forums and ebay, with one attracting a “sold price” of £16,000 – prompting interest from a number of national newspapers.
Paddington 50p listed for £16,100. Credit: ebay
Of course, in reality, it’s unlikely that the transaction will ever complete at that price and certainly it’s not the time to be bidding on ebay for the new coin as The Royal Mint has confirmed the release date for the new Paddington 50p Coin as 18th June, with a second design, featuring Paddington outside Buckingham palace, following later in the year (also available to pre-order on Monday).
Paddington at the Palace BU 50p – Available to pre-order from the 18th June.
The new coin will be available in the official Royal Mint Presentation Pack, which usually sells for around £10 or in a Change Checker “Certified Brilliant Uncirculated” Presentation for £3.99 from www.westminstercollection.com
Coloured Silver 50p Collector’s Edition also confirmed…
Limited numbers of the Silver Proof Collector’s Edition of the Paddington 50p coin have also been seen in some Post Offices ahead of the 18th June release date.
Paddington at the Station Silver Proof – Available to order from the 18th June.
Again these will be properly available online from 18 June, with a confirmed Limited Edition Presentation of 60,000.