First individual King Charles III £2 coin featuring Edward Jenner!

The incredible life and legacy of British physician, Edward Jenner, has been celebrated on a brand new UK £2 coin!

Plus, this brand new coin release becomes the first individual King Charles III £2 to be issued in the UK!

Secure yours here for £9.99 (+p&p) >>

Edward Jenner celebrated on new UK £2

Physician to King George, Jenner pioneered the creation of vaccines and created the smallpox vaccine – the world’s first vaccine! His incredible work led to the worldwide eradication of smallpox, a huge feat in Britain’s history.

Edward Jenner.
Credit: John Raphael Smith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This UK issue also marks 200 years since his passing, and becomes the second £2 coin in The Royal Mint’s Innovation in Science series.

On the reverse of the coin, Henry Gray’s unique design represents Edward Jenner’s crucial contribution to the world of vaccines. Plus, personally approved by His Majesty the King, Martin Jennings’ King Charles III effigy adorns the obverse.

What’s more, as this is the first individual UK £2 coin to feature King Charles III’s portrait, it’s likely to be increasingly sought-after by collectors

So don’t miss out on adding the 2023 UK Edward Jenner £2 to your collection! Order yours today in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for £9.99 (+p&p) – click here to order yours >>

Alexander Graham Bell £2

This new release follows the Alexander Graham Bell £2 coin in The Royal Mint’s science series. Initially released in the 2022 Annual Coin Set, this issue saw huge popularityfind out more here >>

2022 Alexander Graham Bell £2 with hidden message (Pioneer of the Telephone)

And, with a design depicting buttons of a telephone with a message hidden amongst the keypad letters, it’s no surprise that it was voted Change Checker’s favourite 2022 Annual Coin Design!

Stephen Hawking 50p

Stephen Hawking 50p held in palm
Stephen Hawking 50p held in palm

But the Alexander Graham Bell £2 wasn’t the first UK science coin to capture collectors’ attention. The Stephen Hawking 50p, issued in 2019, saw worldwide interest and SOLD OUT at The Royal Mint within mere hours of release!

And, not only was this popular science 50p rumoured to be a favourite of the Queen’s, but it’s no longer available at The Royal Mint. Find out more on the blog here >>

If you’d like to get your hands on the fascinating coins in the Innovation in Science series, make sure you check out the range on our shop >>

UK 2023 Edward Jenner £2

Not only are we excited to see a brand new Innovation in Science £2 added to the popular series, but the FIRST EVER individually released £2 to feature King Charles III’s effigy!

To add this £2 coin to your collection for just £9.99 (+p&p), simply click here >>

Is time up for our 2ps? Production of 2p and £2 coins could be halted for the next 10 years!

In March 2015, the UK treasury confirmed that 1p and 2p coins will continue to be used “for years to come”. However, it has recently been suggested that due to a cash usage slump, The Royal Mint is set to go ten years without producing anymore 2p coins!

But it’s not just our coppers at stake.. The same applies for £2 coins, as it has been revealed that in March 2020, The Royal Mint was sitting on 26 times as many £2 coins as it needed to.

According to the National Audit Office’s report into Britain’s cash usage, the number of coins produced each year by The Royal Mint fell by nearly two-thirds between 2011 and this year.

Less than a quarter of all payments were made by cash last year, according to figures released in June by the banking trade body UK Finance.

It’s fair to assume that even less cash has been used since the start of 2020 due to the coronavirus leading to fears of cash usage and a move to more contactless payments.

However, The Mint told Britain’s spending watchdog that there had been ‘sharp increases in demand’ for change ‘as many businesses and consumers hoarded coins in the early months of the pandemic’.

As a result, the Treasury ordered The Royal Mint to strike 60 million additional 1p coins over the summer to meet this new demand. So make sure you keep your eyes peeled for these new 1p coins, especially if you’re collecting dateruns!

The Royal Mint are required to forecast the demand for small change to ensure it keeps enough coins in stock without striking too few or too many, but with significant fluctuations in consumer behaviour in recent years, this has no doubt been a challenge.

Round Pounds

In 2017, after the introduction of the new 12-sided £1, The Royal Mint saw a swell in its coin stocks as people rushed to return their round pounds, ending up returning loose change of other denominations at the same time.

Source: National Audit Office

According to the NAO, at the end of March, The Royal Mint aimed to hold 700,000 £2 coins, but actually held 18.7million. And rather than holding its target of 15.9million 2p coins, it held 127.1million.

As a result, in March of this year, The NAO said The Royal Mint had estimated ‘it did not envisage producing any new 2p or £2 coins for at least 10 years’.

We haven’t seen a £2 enter circulation since 2016, so, could this mean that those 2016 dated £2s and 2017 dated 2p coins are the last of their kind? We certainly hope not.

But what about our coppers? Do you think we still need 1p and 2p coins in circulation? Have your say by voting in our poll on Facebook.

And what could the future for Britain’s definitive coinage be if the 1p and 2p coins were removed? Currently the definitive coins from 1p to 50p come together to create The Royal Shield, but with two key pieces missing, could this lead to a complete re-design?

We’d love to hear what you think about the use of cash vs card and the demand for our smaller denominations, so leave us a comment below to share your thoughts.


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

January 2019 eBay Tracker Update

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BAME figures set to feature on UK Coins and Banknotes

For decades, UK coinage has celebrated some of the most influential and significant people in British history.

However, a lack of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic figures (BAME) being recognised on legal tender has led to campaigning for greater inclusivity.

This comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak stated he was considering proposals from a campaign group. He has since asked the Royal Mint to come up with new designs honouring BAME figures who have served the nation – such as military figures and nurses.

Will Mahatma Gandhi be the first to feature?

It has been confirmed that the first figure to be considered in a new series of UK coins that will recognise and celebrate BAME figures on UK currency will be Mahatma Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Gandhi is most well known for leading the successful campaign for India’s independence, using nonviolent resistance which inspired human rights movements across the world.

However, he also has strong ties with London, having attended the University College of London law school in 1888.

Despite leaving for India after being called to the bar in 1891, he continued to return to London, right up until his final visit in 1931 where he attended a conference on the future of India.

Military nurse Mary Seacole and spy Noor Inayat Khan also being considered

The Jamaican-born business woman and nurse, Mary Seacole is being considered as one of the figures to feature on a British currency.

Mary Seacole (1873). Credit: Wikimedia Commons

At the outbreak of the Crimean War, Seacole travelled to England hoping to join Florence Nightingale’s famous team of nurses.

However, she was turned down and instead travelled to Crimea herself where she established the “British Hotel”, intended to be somewhere soldiers could rest and eat.

With the location of her hotel being so close to the conflict, she was able to visit the battlefield, sometimes under fire, to nurse the wounded. Indeed, she nursed sick soldiers so kindly that they called her ‘Mother Seacole’.

In May, a community hospital was named after the pioneering nurse and there is also now a trust in her name, which aims to educate and inform the public about her life, work and achievements.

Noor Inayat Khan (1943). Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Noor Inayat Khan is also another figure in consideration. Khan was a wartime British secret agent of Indian descent who was the first female radio operator sent into Nazi-occupied France in 1943, by the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Many members of the same network were arrested not long after entering France, but she spent the summer moving from place to place, trying to send messages back to London while avoiding capture.

In November 1943, she was sent to Pforzheim prison in Germany where she was kept in chains and in solitary confinement. Despite repeated torture, she refused to reveal any information about British Intelligence.

2014 Walter Tull £5

2014 Walter Tull Silver Proof £5 Coin. Credit: The Royal Mint

In 2014, a commemorative Silver Proof £5 coin was issued within a series of coins commemorating the First World War.

Recognised as the first black officer in Britain’s Armed Forces, Walter Tull is celebrated on this £5 coin as a hero and famous figure from the war.

However, coins such as this celebrating BAME figures on UK coins are few and far between, and when issued as higher specification precious metal coins, they end up being less accessible to the general public.

Banknotes of Colour Campaign

A ‘Banknotes of Colour’ campaign is currently being led by former Conservative parliamentary candidate, Zehra Zaidi in efforts to see the better representation of non-white peoples on British currency.

She said, “We must tell the story of inclusive representation as it matters for cohesion and it matters in the narrative of who we are as a nation.”

We look forward to hearing more as the story unfolds as Rishi Sunak considers these proposals which would recognise and celebrate BAME figures on UK currency.


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

January 2019 eBay Tracker Update

Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app