Posts by Change Checker
70 Years of our Queen! All you need to know about the events and initiatives marking the Platinum Jubilee in 2022…
On this day in 1952, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, acceded the throne, making her only the eighth Queen to rule England, Scotland and then later, the United Kingdom.
Now, 70 years on, our Queen is marking her Platinum Jubilee – the only British monarch in history to do so! Her Majesty has been a constant during an ever-changing Britain over the last 70 years, and it’s fantastic that her achievements are being celebrated all throughout 2022!
At Change Checker HQ, we’ve been celebrating Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee with the issue of the UK’s FIRST Royal 50p!
This 50p was first issued as part of the Annual Coin Set, with a reverse design by London Based Design Agency, Osborne Ross, and the fifth portrait of Her Majesty by Jody Clark on the obverse.
Excitingly this brand new 50p has been confirmed to enter circulation on the 7th February! With an initial 1.3 million being circulated from Post Offices on this date, The Royal Mint have confirmed that a maximum of 5,000,070 could be issued based on demand!
And, there’s even a very special collector quality version of this coin too, featuring an obverse design of Her Majesty on horseback, which is a first for the UK 50p!
Designed by John Bergdahl, this 50p’s obverse design pays homage to the original 1953 Coronation Crown, the first to show Queen Elizabeth II on horseback.
If you’re yet to secure this coin for your collection, you can do so in Brilliant Uncirculated quality, for JUST £4.99 (+p&p). Simply click here >>
And to continue our celebrations, Change Checker are also back on tour, with this brand new coin! On the road to the Platinum Jubilee weekend in June, we’re going to giving YOU the chance to swap any 50p for this brand new Platinum Jubilee 50p in Brilliant Uncirculated quality!
Starting our tour in Westgate Shopping Centre, Oxford, on the 24th February, we’ll be bringing 1,952 coins with us for you to swap, in tribute to Her Majesty’s coronation year.
To find out all the details, click here >>
But there’s lots of fun events and activities happening all up and down the country in the run up to the Platinum Jubilee weekend in June.
Including:
- The Queen’s Green Canopy, a unique tree planting initiative, which invites people from across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee”.
- The Platinum Jubilee Pudding Competition, where the public are invited to create their own Jubilee pudding, with the winning pud being part of Her Majesty’s celebrations!
- The Queen’s Birthday Parade or otherwise known as Trooping the Colour, where over 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians will come together in the traditional Parade to mark The Queen’s official birthday, usually held on the second Saturday in June.
- Over 1,500 Platinum Jubilee Beacons will also be lit to mark the Platinum Jubilee, throughout the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories.
- The Platinum Party at the Palace will be staged and broadcasted by the BBC on Saturday 4th June, featuring some of the world’s biggest entertainment starts.
- On Sunday 5th June, streets up and the country can take part in the Big Jubilee lunch, which encourages communities to celebrate their connections!
- And of course, we’ve also been treated to an extended Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday Weekend from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th of June!
This is just a small handful of the fun activities and initiatives that will be celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. How will you be celebrating? Let us know in the comments below!
Secure the brand new 2022 UK Platinum Jubilee 50p for your collection!
Your 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p has been struck to a superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
An absolute must-have for collectors, order today to own the UK’s FIRST ROYAL 50p, including the special obverse design!
Change Checker LIVE Events are BACK! The Road to the Platinum Jubilee…
In celebration of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, we’ve seen some incredible coin issues mark the occasion.
We even recently heard the very exciting news that an initial 1.3 million Platinum Jubilee 50p coins will enter circulation in the UK on the 7th of February!
To continue the celebrations, Change Checker has been taking the Platinum Jubilee 50p, with that very special obverse, on a tour of the UK.
We’re delighted to announce we’re heading to Newcastle AND Glasgow on our next stop of our tour!
Join us on Thursday 5th May from 9am – 9pm at the Metrocentre in Newcastle and Saturday 7th May from 9am – 6pm at Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow. We’re giving collectors the chance to swap ANY UK 50p coin for the coin of a lifetime, in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
This version of the Platinum Jubilee 50p won’t be entering circulation, so it’s a great chance to get your hands on it in superior quality for just face value!
We’ll be taking 1,952 coins with us to swap on the day, in tribute to Her Majesty’s Coronation anniversary! Swaps will be limited to one per person whilst stocks last and it will be a strict first come first served basis.
We’ve already visited Oxford and Sheffield on our tour of the UK and there will be other occasions and locations for you to swap your coins, on the countdown to the Platinum Jubilee weekend in June!
Metrocentre, Newcastle
On Thursday 5th May you can find us on the lower level of the Metrocentre, just outside Timpson and Market Cross Jewellers, as highlighted by the pink arrow above.
Metrocentre is located just off the A1, following signs for Newcastle and Gateshead. If travelling via car, you can use the Sat Nav reference: NE11 9YG to guide you.
The centre is also on the national rail network and has its own train station.
Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow
On Saturday 7th May you can find us on the ground floor of Buchanan Galleries in the North Atrium. We’ll be located just outside John Lewis, as highlighted above with a pink dot.
Buchanan Galleries is located in the heart of Glasgow city centre, on the corner of Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street.
If you’re joining us by car, use G2 3NW as your destination and enter the car park from either Killermont Street or Cathedral Street.
Being in the city centre, it’s very handy to reach via public transport. Buchanan Galleries is located next to Queen Street train station, Buchanan Street subway station and Buchanan bus station. Glasgow Central train station is also just 5 minutes’ walk away.
FAQs
Can I swap more than one coin?
Such is the popularity of our Live Coin Swaps and to ensure that it is fair for everybody, we’ll be limiting the number of swaps to strictly 1 swap per person.
Can I reserve a coin before I arrive?
To ensure it is a fair swap event for everyone, we do not offer reservations of coins. It is a strictly first come first served basis.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Secure the 2022 UK Platinum Jubilee 50p in Brilliant Uncirculated quality!
Whilst we hope you’re excited to swap your 50p coin for the brand new Platinum Jubilee 50p at one of our live swap events, if you want to ensure this coin is guaranteed for your collection, you can do so for JUST £4.99 (+p&p) >>
Be sure you don’t miss out!
National Storytelling Week – stories told through coins!
Today marks the start of National Storytelling Week, which is celebrated in February each year. It’s a great chance for people to share their own stories and listen to the stories told by others.
As part of the celebrations, we’ve taken a look at some UK coins that celebrate some of the very best storytellers.
William Shakespeare
One of the greatest storytellers and playwrights of all time, William Shakespeare, shot to fame during the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages of British theatre.
He wrote 38 plays, 2 narrative poems, 154 sonnets and a variety of other pieces!
In 2016 to commemorate the 400th anniversary since his death, The Royal Mint issued a three-coin series, each taking inspiration from a theme of Shakespeare’s plays.
This coin’s design was inspired by Shakespeare’s history plays, with an edge inscription that reads: “The Hollow Crown”, from his play “Richard II”.
The other £2 coins take inspiration from his Tragedies, with an inscription taken from Hamlet, and his comedies with this coin’s inscription reading ‘All the world’s a stage’ from As You Like It.
Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter’s enchanting tales of countryside characters, including Peter Rabbit and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle skyrocketed her to stardom. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1902 and it instantly became a best-seller!
And it was in 2016 that Peter Rabbit escaped from Mr. McGregor’s Garden and made his first debut on United Kingdom coinage.
Issued to celebrate 150 years since the birth of renowned Children’s author, Beatrix Potter, this 50p changed coin collecting forever.
This series of coins continued into 2017, 2018 and 2019. Fifteen Beatrix Potter coins have now been issued since 2016, each featuring one of Potter’s delightful characters, from Flopsy Bunny to Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle.
The title of the rarest of the Beatrix Potter 50p actually belongs to two coins! The 2018 Peter Rabbit and 2018 Flopsy Bunny both have a mintage of just 1.4 million!
Charles Dickens
A list of great story tellers wouldn’t be complete without Charles Dickens!
Dickens’ enchanting stories, vivid characters, and depiction of Victorian life are widely acknowledged across the world by critics and scholars alike and his novels and short stories continue to be widely popular to this day.
The reverse design of this £2 coin by Matthew Dent features Dickens’ recognizable profile crafted from the titles of his most famous works.
This coin had a circulating mintage of 8,190,000 and is one of my personal favourites!
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie’s first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published in 1920 and it kick-started the nation’s love of her detective novels and murder mysteries.
In 2020, to mark 100 years since her first publication, The Royal Mint celebrated the world’s best-selling novelist with this £2 coin.
David Lawrence’s design of this coin pays homage to Christie’s crime novels, with a piece of a jigsaw slotting into place and her signature at the bottom.
The coin also features the edge inscription ‘100 years of mystery 1920’-2020’ to mark this very special anniversary.
Sherlock Holmes 50p
In 2019, to mark 160 years since the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Royal Mint issued this 50p coin.
The prolific writer is best known for his incredibly popular detective stories featuring the fictional Sherlock Holmes™. It is said his works revolutionized the crime genre, and despite Doyle sharing an ambivalent relationship with his famous character, Holmes’ popularity resulted in Doyle becoming one of the best-paid authors of the time.
The reverse has been designed by Stephen Raw and features a silhouette of Sherlock smoking a pipe, surrounded by a few of his most-famous story titles.
Are there any other great storytellers you think should be celebrated on our UK coins? Comment below!
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