Posts Tagged ‘RAF’
March 2018 Video Newsletter
Watch as Yasmin and Luke discuss all the latest news from the world of change collecting:
The £2 coin series commemorating 100 Years of the RAF
In 2018, The Royal Mint announced a five coin £2 series commemorating the Centenary of the Royal Air Force.
The Royal Air Force was formed on April 1st 1918, in the early years of aviation. It was the world’s first independent air force, and is recognised today all over the world for its capability, courage and innovation.
RAF Badge £2
The first coin in the series was the RAF Centenary Badge £2 which was issued as part of the 2018 Annual Coin Set on New Year’s Day 2018.
Designed by Rhys Morgan, this coin celebrates the Royal Air Force as a whole, featuring the badge of the RAF and the years 1918-2018. The badge was originally used at the first Air Council meeting in 1918 and then registered in the 1920s with the Royal College of Arms.
Capturing the spirit of the RAF as a whole, this design symbolises the RAF’s resilience over the past century.
RAF Spitfire £2
The second coin in the series features perhaps one of the most famous aircraft ever built – the Supermarine Spitfire. The coin’s design, by brothers Richard and Neil Talbot, shows three Spitfires flying through the sky.
Designed by Reginald Mitchell, the Spitfire first flew in 1936 – its sleek, streamlined fuselage, beautiful elliptical wing shape and incomparable Rolls Royce Merlin engine making it one of the most graceful fighter aircraft ever designed.
RAF Vulcan £2
The third coin in the series features the legendary Vulcan bomber.
With it’s instantly recognisable delta wing, the Vulcan combined awesome capability with grace and beauty unmatched by another bomber from the jet-age. In flight, the aircraft was the epitome of power during its service from 1956 until 1984, with superb range and load-carrying capacity.
RAF Sea King £2
The fourth coin in the series pays tribute to the Sea King helicopter.
Known as the ‘angel on our shoulders’, the Sea King helicopter acted exclusively in a search and rescue role from 1978, with the final mission taking place on the 4th of October 2015, when a man found unconscious on Ilfracombe Beach was picked up and flown to hospital.
In 2012, Prince William himself flew a Sea King during a training exercise which ended in a rescue mission when two girls were swept out to sea in a riptide.
RAF Lightning II £2
The sixth and final coin in the series features the the F-35 Lightning II.
Entering service in 2018, the multirole Lightning II joined forces with the jet plane Typhoon to revolutionise the RAF’s fighting capability.
Your favourite design
We asked Change Checkers to vote for their favourite coin in the RAF Centenary series, and the results were incredibly close…
In first place with 28% of the votes was the Sea King £2, extremely closely followed by the Spitfire £2 with 27% of the votes.
Which RAF Centenary £2 is your favourite? Let us know in the comments!
Secure the RAF Centenary Collecting Pack
The RAF Centenary £2 coins are no longer available to purchase, however you can secure the RAF Centenary £2 Display Pack to store and display your coins in >>
First look: New Royal Mint coin designs for 2018!
Every year The Royal Mint mark the year’s memorable events and anniversaries that capture the nation’s striking stories on circulating coins, and 2018 is no different.
Today The Royal Mint have unveiled the new themes and designs for all the 2018 commemorative coins, and Change Checkers can look forward to some very significant British anniversaries being commemorated.
£5: The Fifth Birthday of HRH Prince George of Cambridge
The reverse design is by Jody Clark and is an image of Saint George slaying a dragon with a spear. The obverse features Jody Clark’s portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
This £5 coin marks the His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge’s 5th birthday
£2: The 200th Anniversary of the Publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
The reverse of this coin was designed by Thomas Doherty and features the words ‘Frankenstein’ in an electric gothic font, with ‘Bicentenary of Mary Shelley’s The Modern Prometheus’ around the edge.
This £2 coin pays tribute to author Mary Shelley, who, 200 years ago, created an enduring nightmare through her novel Frankenstein, hailed as the first science fiction novel.
£2: The 100th Anniversary of the First World War Armistice
The reverse was designed by Stephen Raw and features the words ‘The truth untold, the pity of war’, from the Wilfred Owen poem Strange Meeting. The words stand out of a mud-like background in the centre of the £2.
The Armistice of 1918, the first step towards ending the horrors of the First World War, is marked by this £2 coin.
£2: The 100th Anniversary of the Royal Air Force
The reverse features the design by Rhys Morgan of the Badge of the RAF. An eagle flies in front of a circle inscribed with the official motto ‘ Per Ardua Ad Astra’, which is Latin for ‘Through adversity to the stars’, with the Imperial Crown at the top.
This £2 coin commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force and its inspirational role in protecting the skies above Britain.
50p: The 100th Anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918
Designed by Stephen Taylor the reverse features five men and women in line to vote, with a woman triumphantly raising a voting card. The words ‘Representation of The People Act’ are written under the date 1918.
This 50p coin celebrates 100 years since the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918, hailed as a landmark for democracy.
The announcement of the year’s coins is always an exciting moment for Change Checkers, particularly when the anniversaries are as significant as these.
And now we can now start looking forward to finding these new designs in our change throughout the year!
The 2018 Change Checker Commemorative Coin Set
If you can’t wait to find these in your change, be one of the first in the UK to own the set!
Add the 2018 Change Checker Commemorative Coin Set to your collection today >>