Posts Tagged ‘UK Coins’
Could the 2018 Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin become the rarest 50p EVER?
The mintage figures for the 2017 UK base metal 50p coins have been released but that’ll have to wait a minute… there’s some even more exciting news!
The Royal Mint have announced that there will be a 2018 Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin but the ONLY place you’ll be able to get your hands on one of these is The Royal Mint Experience in Llantrisant, Wales! Interestingly, these 2018 dated coins will not be released into circulation.
Anybody visiting The Mint will get to strike a 2018 Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin but this will only be for a short period of time and subject to availability.
The ONLY place to get your hands on a 2018 dated Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin is at The Royal Mint Experience! (Image: The Royal Mint)
We’re predicting that due to the short time frame and visitor numbers, there could well be substantially less than 210,000 of these coins struck, meaning the 2018 Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin could well have a lower mintage figure than even the Kew Gardens 50p!
2017 UK Base Metal Mintage Figures
Early on Christmas Eve morning The Royal Mint released the mintage figures for the 2017 UK base metal commemorative coins. What immediately caught our eye was the surprisingly low number of Sir Isaac Newton 50p coins that had been struck.
At just 1.8 million the Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin has a lower mintage than the 2016 Jemima Puddle-Duck coin. Making it the SECOND LOWEST UK circulation 50p coin behind Kew Gardens (excluding the Olympic 50p range).
Granted it is someway behind Kew Gardens, which has a mintage figure of just 210,000, but it is the only other UK commemorative circulation 50p coin with a mintage under 2 million.
Good news for Beatrix Potter Fans
Unlike the 2016 Beatrix Potter 50p coins, the good news is that all the 2017 coins have a consistent mintage figure. In 2016 the Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p had a substantially lower mintage figure than the other coins from the series making it very hard for Change Checkers to complete their sets.
All 4 of the 2017 Beatrix Potter coins have a mintage of at least 9.3 million meaning there shouldn’t be any problems completing your 2017 sets.
It’s going to be interesting to see how these new mintage figures affect our Change Checker Scarcity Index update, due at the end of January.
What about the 2017 £2 coins?
As yet, we are still waiting for the mintage figures for the 2017 Jane Austen and 2017 First World War Aviation £2 coins to be released. We’ll be sure to update you as soon as anything is announced.
Own the 2017 UK Isaac Newton CERTIFIED BU 50p
This special 50p coin commemorates the legacy of Sir Isaac Newton, genius of the Scientific Revolution and one of the most famous figures to ever hold the role of Master of the Mint.
Designed by Aaron West, the reverse of this striking coin is based on elements of Proposition 11, in Book One of Newton’s Principia Mathematica. Whilst the obverse features the Jody Clark portrait of Her Majesty the Queen.
This specially struck 50p coin comes securely encapsulated and as a Change Checker CERTIFIED BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED issue, you’ll know your coin will be protected forever and guaranteed by its Certified Hologram.
2017…what a year!
It has been an incredibly busy year for change checkers; during 2017 we’ve seen many fantastic new coin releases, the withdrawal of a coin in circulation since 1983 and also the introduction of a brand new banknote. Not forgetting the first ever Change Checker Scarcity Index and two Live Coin Swaps.
To help you relive all the highlights from the past 12 months we’ve put together a special Change Checker 2017 Review timeline. Enjoy!
Change Checker Awards 2017…RESULTS!
We launched the first ever Change Checker Awards to celebrate the very best people in the world of change collecting…and you certainly didn’t disappointed!
It’s been a very tough job picking the winners as there were so many strong entries but the decisions have been made and the winners are…
Change Checker of the Year 2017
The winner of Change Checker of the Year 2017 is Robert Durrant!
Robert has been a fantastic Change Checker throughout the whole of 2017.
He was nominated by another Change Checker due to his constant presence on our social media pages and willingness to help others with their collections.
He always has enough time to pass on his incredible knowledge and passion to other collectors.
Robert started collecting from a very early age when the old One Shilling would still be found in your change. He collects both old and new coins, especially any commemorative pieces.
Congratulations Robert – keep up the great work!
Runners Up:
Sarah Nimmo
Sarah was described by the colleague who nominated her as ‘a generous and inspiring collector who gives generously of her time and knowledge’. Sarah’s enthusiasm for change checking has sparked a revolution in her office; nobody who worked for the company collected coins until Sarah joined and now she’s even launched a coin collecting club! Great work Sarah!
John Clarke
John was also nominated by a colleague who described him as ‘a brilliant bloke who’s brilliant at collecting coins!’. He has completed his 50p, £1, and £2 collection and by sharing his love for collecting has now convinced another 4 of his colleagues to start checking their change. He’s also enlisted the help of staff at local shops and garages who check their change for him. Well done John!
Junior Change Checker of the Year 2017
The winner of Junior Change checker of the Year is Candice Clews!
Candice is 16 years old and first became interested in coins around 1 year ago. As she came across more and more ‘unusual’ designs, Candice joined Change Checker and purchased an album for her coins.
She has enlisted the help of her family, friends and online forums and has now finished her 50p collection (minus Kew Gardens), completed the Olympic 50ps, the Round Pounds and has nearly collected all the £2 coins.
She’s gained an almost expert knowledge of both UK and British Territory coins and is always keen to help other collectors whenever possible.
Congratulations Candice, you are a very worthy winner!
Runners Up:
Hamza Mughal
11 year old Hamza started checking his change earlier this year and quickly developed a passion for collecting. He has taken his collection into school and was also awarded the ‘hobbies’ badge at Scouts. Everytime he goes shopping he makes sure that he’s given change that will include £2 and 50p coins! Well done Hamza!
McKenna Kelly
Mckenna is 10 years old and has been collecting since she was small. She is a child with autism and her special interest is collecting coins with different faces on. As well as UK coins, McKenna’s collection also includes coins from around the world and has nearly completed the USA 50 state quarters collection. Many of McKenna’s family now also collect coins due to her enthusiasm. Congratulations McKenna!
Coin Design of the Year 2017
The winner of Coin Design of the Year 2017 is the Sir Isaac Newton 50p designed by Aaron West.
This award was voted for by Change Checkers earlier in the year.
This is the second year in a row that one of Aaron’s designs has won Coin Design of the year, his Great Fire of London £2 coin was voted as the 2016 winner by Change Checkers.
It’s a huge achievement given the fantastic coins that were released in 2017. Will Aaron make it a hattrick in 2018? He’s certainly going to be hard to beat.
Coin Photo of the Year 2017
The winner of Coin Photo of the Year 2017 is ‘Gold and Silver Medal’ by Kerry White.
Kerry’s photo was the winner in the ‘Sport’ category and is a beautiful image. It utilises the 2012 Olympic 50p coins and has the 2008 Olympic Handover £2 coin at the centre.
Set against a black backdrop, the coins stand out perfectly creating a lovely medal image.
The 4 finalists were voted for by Change Checkers and the winner was chosen by our panel. Congratulations to our 3 other finalists.
Coin Story of the Year 2017
The winner of Coin Story of the Year 2017 the ‘Dual-Dated £1 Coin’ written by journalist Henry Saker-Clark for the Hull Daily Mail.
On the 13th June a story broke of a 12-sided £1 coin with two different dates. The coin has 2016 on the obverse and 2017 micro engraved on the reverse.
This was the first 12-sided £1 coin ‘error’ that anybody had heard of and once it had been verified by The Royal Mint as a genuine ‘mule’ the story went national. Picked up by all the major newspapers it quickly became the biggest UK circulation coin story of 2017.
A huge congratulations to all of our winners and also to all the fantastic entries we had for all the categories. We’d like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support in 2017 and hope that 2018 is a fantastic year of Change Checking for you all!