Posts Tagged ‘The Royal Mint’
50 years in the making – from 3d to £1: the story behind the new £1 coin
In just a few weeks, Britain’s one pound coin will undergo a major makeover. The familiar round pound will change to become bi-metallic and 12-sided and will also have several new security features. But the shape of this new £1 coin is actually a throwback to the thrup’nny bit – an old favourite from the pre-decimal era.
The 12-sided threepenny is fondly remembered for its individuality. There was quite literally nothing like it before, and it holds the proud title of Britain’s first non-circular coin.
But, of course, it’s not the first major change in the nation’s £1.
I’ve taken a look back at some of the key changes for Britain’s coinage over the last 50 years to welcome the brand new 12-sided £1 coin, when it is issued on 28th March.
The 28th March 2017 is sure to become a historic day as we welcome the new coin which has been billed to become the most secure circulating coin in the world. This will be the first specification change to our £1 coin in more than 3 decades.
But the Thrup’nny Bit deserves recognition for being the inspiration behind our new £1 coin which is sure to become a collecting sensation. The Thrup’nny Bit was eventually withdrawn from circulation in 1971 after the introduction of decimal coinage which didn’t include Three Pence as a denomination. However, its legacy lives on, and is still widely regarded as one of the most iconic coins in British history.
The Story of the new £1 Collector’s Pack
Click here to secure the ‘Story of the £1 Collector Pack’ which has space for you to house the new 12-sided £1 coin once you find it in your change, alongside the UK Brass 12-Sided Threepence Coin.
21 tips to complete your Great One Pound Coin Race
The Race is on…
You’ve only got until 15 October to find all 24 circulating £1 coin designs. And after the new 12-sided £1 Coin is released on 28 March, it will get harder as banks start to replace the £1 coins they receive with the new 12-sided £1 coin.
So that’s why we’ve put our heads together to give you 21 Top Tips to complete your Great One Pound Coin Race in time.
- Check your change drawer / change pot
- Ask friends and family
- Go to the bank and change notes to £1 coins
- Swap with the Change Checker web app – changechecker.org
- Befriend the local corner shop / launderette owner and ask them for their £1 coins
- Arcade / bingo change machines
- Pay with a note and round up with loose change to maximise your £1 coin change
- Look for Facebook swap groups
- Raid your children’s piggy banks (and replace them with notes!)
- Look for abandoned supermarket trolleys
- Check down the back of the sofa
- Check old handbags
- Set up a lottery syndicate and collect the payments in round £1 coins
- Have a bake sale – everything a round £1 coin
- Offer to count up any collections and swap out the £1 coins for notes
- Car boot sale – everything is “One Round Pound”
- Pay car park charges in notes and receive the change in coins
- Check any tips your friends might be leaving at restaurants
- Always carry some £1 coins with you so you can swap any time you see a good one
- Check gym lockers
- Try to build a collection as a group – e.g. a school class – 30 Change Checkers are better than 1!
Win a Gold-plated Participant’s Medal
Do you have any more tips?
We’ll be giving away some special 24-Carat Gold Plated Great One Pound Coin Participant’s Medals to the best ideas. Simply comment below with your top tip.
How to enter the Great One Pound Coin Race
If you haven’t started your Great One Pound Coin Race yet, it’s not too late. Simply click here to enter today and you too could own a complete collection of £1 coins direct from your change before they’re gone for ever.
The new 12-Sided £1 is already a collecting sensation – and it’s not even out yet!
The new 12-sided £1 has grabbed the headlines this week as collector’s really can’t wait to get their hands on one.
In fact, the new coins are proving to be so popular that people are willing to pay way over their face value to get hold of one before the official release date of March 28th.
Currently the only way to get hold of a brand new 12-sided £1 coin is to purchase a 2017 Annual Coin pack (which includes all the coins issued for 2017 struck to a Brilliant Uncirculated finish) or to visit the Royal Mint Experience in Wales and strike your own coin.
Sellers have cottoned on to this and are now selling their coins on auction sites with the ‘justification’ that they are not yet widely available – bids have even been fetching over 5000% their face value. But you really don’t need to pay these prices if you can hold on for a month or so.
The 2016 Trial Pieces
But there’s no doubt that the more interesting pieces are the 2016 trial £1 coins that have also cropped up on online auction sites – one coin even sold for a whopping £200.
However, The Royal Mint has issued over 200,000 trial samples of the new £1 to industry stakeholders in preparation for the new coin. And The Royal Mint has made it clear that these coins don’t have legal tender status and have no redeemable value.
They are most certainly an interesting piece for anyone to have in their collection, but they are not as scarce as some of the recent reports and eBay listings suggest.
To put this into perspective, in 1994, The Royal Mint issued 4,500 packs of trial £2 coins. These packs can now sell for around £150 due to their scarcity.
When can I get a new 12-sided £1 coin?
The new £1 coin is due to enter circulation next month and you can start checking your change then. A Brilliant Uncirculated version of the coin will also be available to buy as an individual collectors piece from the 28th March.
Don’t forget to post a picture to the Change Checker Facebook page when you find one!
Be one of the FIRST people to own the new £1 Coin.
Today you can own all 13 of the United Kingdom’s 2017 coins including the brand new ‘Nations of the Crown’ 12-sided £1 within the latest annual coin pack.