General info
The 2022 UK Annual Coins are HERE!
Each year, collectors eagerly anticipate the arrival of the The Royal Mint’s Annual Set.
These coins commemorate some of the key anniversaries of the year ahead and it means we get treated to FIVE brand new coin designs!
With some momentous anniversaries coming up this year, the issues in the 2022 Annual Set are some of the MOST poignant yet.
So, let’s kick off the year with the coins we’ve all been waiting for, the 2022 Annual Set.
Platinum Jubilee 50p
Kicking things off with a UK FIRST, is the brand new 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the United Kingdom’s longest reigning monarch, with an incredible 70 years of service to the crown.
In tribute to this record-breaking achievement, The Royal Mint have issued the UK’s very first royal 50p!
Designed by Osborne Ross, the coin features a slick reverse design that shows the number 70, the royal cypher and the years that span her reign so far.
Her Majesty’s fifth portrait, by Jody Clark, also features on the obverse of this coin.
What an incredible anniversary for Her Majesty to be celebrating this year and I’m sure you’ll agree that this stunning 50p is a wonderful tribute to her.
The UK’s VERY FIRST Royal 50p will be issued individually in just two days’ time, on the 6th January. This version will feature a special obverse design not found in the Annual Set… Stay tuned to find out more!
Commonwealth Games 50p
The Commonwealth Games was first held in 1930 and with the exception of wartime (1942 and 1946) has taken place every four years since then!
In the entire 92-year history, 2022 marks only the third time that England has played host to the games! So to mark the occasion, The Royal Mint has issued this brand new 50p.
Featuring a design by Royal Mint designer Natasha Preece, this 50p represents the essence of Birmingham 2022 with a striking geometric design.
We think it’s the perfect tribute to Birmingham hosting the games for the very first time and a great way to wish all of the athletes good luck.
Alexander Graham Bell £2
Alexander Graham Bell was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist, and engineer who patented the first practical telephone.
In the 100th anniversary year since his passing, The Royal Mint have issued this brand new £2 coin.
The coin features a design showing the dial of a push-button phone, alongside the words ‘pioneer of the telephone’ inscribed into the buttons.
It’s hard to image a life without our phones, but before Bell’s work, it was a complete unknown.
It was back in 1871 that Bell first started work on his harmonic telegraph, which allowed multiple messages to be transmitted over a wire at the same time.
And in 1876, he made his very first telephone call to Thomas Watson and was then granted his telephone patent.
The design of this coin perfectly celebrates all of Bell’s achievements in making real-time long-distance communication possible.
Dame Vera Lynn £2
In 2020, we received the sad news that Dame Vera Lynn had sadly passed away. The iconic wartime singer was famous for boosting the morale of British troops during WWII.
Coined as the forces sweetheart, her renditions of We’ll Meet Again, The White Cliffs of Dover and I’ll Be Seeing You, became synonyms with wartime.
Dame Vera Lynn played such a key role during wartime that Buckingham Palace sent a private message of condolence to her family.
And in 2022, to commemorate her life and achievements, The Royal Mint commemorates her on a brand new £2 coin.
Designed by The Royal Mint design team, this £2 features a detailed portrait of Dame Vera Lynn as she appeared during the height of her fame.
The popularity of her songs has carried across generations. In 2020, her songs still spoke to the nation with a similar level of emotion as they did in 1940 – a testament to her charm, skill, and beautiful voice.
Platinum Jubilee £5
In this very special anniversary year for Her Majesty, we have been treated to not one but TWO Platinum Jubilee coins.
This £5, designed by John Bergdahl features a stunning reverse design. The royal mantle appears as a surround, as it was used on the coinage of William IV!
Inheriting the throne at the age of just 25, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has remained a national constant as head of state since 6 February 1952.
Since then, the nation has watched her grow from a young queen to the much-loved monarch that she is today.
The dates 1952-2022 feature on the reverse design, in a poignant tribute to her incredible 70 years of service to the crown.
I’m sure you’ll agree that this year’s Annual Coin Set is the most impressive to date.
With some incredible anniversaries and events coming up this year, there’s no doubt these coins will be in high demand with collectors.
Don’t forget, the UK’s VERY FIRST Royal 50p will be issued individually in just two days’ time (6th January) – stay tuned to find out more!
Secure the most sought-after Annual Set to date!
To ensure you don’t miss out on adding all FIVE coins for your collection for JUST £40.00 (+p&p), simply click here >>
Each coin has been struck to a superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality and protectively encapsulated in official Change Checker packaging, housed in a Display Page ready to slot into your Change Checker Album.
Upcoming 2022 Coin Releases! What we know so far…
We’ve been keeping our eyes on the latest Royal Proclamations and there’s some very exciting coins on the horizon for 2022!
I’m sure you’re just as pleased as I am to hear which themes we can expect for these coins, so read on to find out more…
Harry Potter 50p Collection
Wands at the ready, Change Checkers! It’s been confirmed in the latest Royal Proclamation, that the UK’s FIRST Harry Potter 50p is set to be issued later this year.
And, the best news is that this will kick-start a magical collection of 50p coins, all celebrating 25 years since the publication of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Whilst exact designs are still locked in the ‘Chamber of Secrets‘, the latest proclamation has revealed that we can expect the following to feature in the collection:
- A depiction of Harry Potter with the inscription, ‘Harry Potter 25 Years of Magic’
- A depiction of the Hogwarts Express and the figure of Harry Potter with the inscription, ‘Hogwarts Express 25 Years of Magic’
- A depiction of Albus Dumbledore and the inscription, ‘Albus Dumbledore 25 Years of Magic’
- A depiction of Hogwarts School and the inscription, ‘Hogwarts 25 Years of Magic’
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books in 1997, and has since gone on to be one of the world’s most popular books of all time.
We can’t wait to see the designs of these brand new coins! Want to get ahead of the crowd and guarantee these coins for your collection as soon as they’re issued? Click here!
100th Anniversary of the BBC 50p
The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) was formed on 18 October 1922 by a group of leading wireless manufacturers including Guglielmo Marconi.
Since establishment, the BBC has been shaped by some of the UK’s biggest innovators, from Marconi, to John Logie Baird. Baird used BBC frequencies to broadcast some of his first experimental television broadcasts from studios near Covent Garden in London.
The BBC is highly regarded for its award-winning creative output, trusted and impartial news services and innovative use of technology.
To commemorate the centenary of the BBC, The Royal Mint have confirmed that they will be issuing a brand new 50p in 2022, which has definitely got Change Checker excited!
As of the Royal Proclamation, on 16th December 2021, the design is said to feature a globe with transmitter waves accompanied by the inscription “1922-2022 100 YEARS OF OUR BBC INFORM EDUCATE ENTERTAIN”.
2022 Winnie the Pooh 50ps
In 2020, The Royal Mint confirmed a brand new 9-coin series of 50ps celebrating 95 years of fun-filled adventure, each featuring a different inhabitant of Hundred Acre Wood.
The Winnie the Pooh 50p series continues in 2022, with the final three coins in the series being confirmed in the latest Royal Proclamation.
We can expect the final coins to depict designs of the following characters from A. A. Milne’s classic tale:
- Winnie the Pooh and Friends
- Kanga and Roo
- Eeyore
These are some of the most famous characters from the story and we’re sure collectors will be racing to get their hands on these coins as soon as they’re issued!
The £2 Turns 25
It’s incredible to think that the bi-metallic £2 coin turns 25 in 2022! To celebrate a number of incredible issues are set to be released, including some of our favourites, all unified by the inscription, “CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF THE £2”.
The coins include:
- Brunel £2
- Florence Nightingale £2
- Robert Burns £2
- Charles Darwin £2
- DNA £2
- Wireless Transmission £2
- 60th Anniversary of the end of World War Two £2
- Charles Dickens £2
- First World War (Navy) £2
- First World War (Kitchener) £2
- First World War aircraft £2
- Jane Austen £2
- Frankenstein £2
- D-Day 75th Anniversary £2
Never miss a future UK coin issue!
Join the Change Checker UK CERTIFIED BU Subscription Service and receive new UK coins sent to your door without the hassle of placing orders on the day of release!
2021 Change Checker Awards – WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
Since the 2021 Change Checker Awards were opened to celebrate the very best people in the world of change collecting, nominations have been flooding in, and it really has been incredible to hear all of your stories from the last year.
It’s certainly meant we’ve had a really tough job deciding on the winners, but with thanks to our panel of judges from the Change Checker team and AllAboutCoins, our well deserved winners have now been selected…
Change Checker of the Year
Winner
Jeffrey Savage
Not only does Jeffrey have an impressive collection both 50p and £2 coins, his enthusiasm for the hobby is captivating. He’s spent a great deal of time and effort encouraging a friend’s son to develop a collection, even gifting him coins when he’s found them.
A truly deserving winner – well done!
Runner-up
Grace Potter
Grace has been nominated in our Change Checker Community for being a helpful and kind member. She has been praised for swapping not only coins, but also her knowledge, helping other members become more experienced in the hobby!
Congratulations!
Junior Change Checker of the Year
Winner
Oscar Harding
Oscar has become a passionate collector, with a wealth of knowledge on circulating coinage (from mintages to designers!) He’s particularly interested in collecting 50p coins, with his heart set on the Kew Gardens, something we can all relate to! His younger sister has now been introduced to the hobby, with the help of her brother, Oscar.
Congratulations!
Runner-up
Harry Halser
Harry has gone above and beyond in the community this year, checking his change at every opportunity and asking other family members to keep an eye out for him. He’s new to the hobby but is passionate, driven, and excited about the coins he has found in his change – all the qualities needed to be a super coin collector!
Well done!
A huge congratulations to our winners and runners up! Keep up the great work. Your prizes are on their way to you!
Matt, a panel member at AllAboutCoins said:
“Once again change checkers around the country have gone above and beyond to find the rarest coins and improve their collections, despite the funny old year we have experienced. What is most impressive about the winners is their clear passion to learn; collecting coins is not just about obtaining the designs themselves, it’s about discovering the stories behind the coins, the reasons they have been issued, and finding out who created these mini masterpieces. Congratulations to both the winners and runners-up and be sure to keep building your knowledge as well as your collection!”
Coin Design of the Year
It comes as no surprise that the 2021 Coin Design of the Year is awarded to the Decimal Day 50p!
The coin has been one of the biggest talking points of the year in the collecting community. We saw two versions of this 50p commemorating the 50th anniversary of our UK coinage turning decimal.
The first version of the Decimal Day 50p, available exclusively in the 2021 Annual Coin Set, features the original Arnold Machin portrait of Her Majesty The Queen on the obverse – the same obverse used for the UK’s very first decimal coins.
However, the individual coin which was released later in January, featured Jody Clark’s fifth portrait of The Queen instead.
If you want to find out why The Royal Mint reverted back to the Queen’s first decimal effigy for this new issue, click here >>
Which version of the 2021 UK Decimal Day 50p do you have in your collection? Let us know in the comment below!
Coin Story of the Year
The winning article in the Coin Story of the Year category, goes to second-time winner George Nixon of This Is Money!
His article, which you can read here, covers the story of Decimalisation, from the brand new 50p issued to mark the 50th anniversary of Decimal Day, to the rarest decimal coins currently in circulation.
Speaking to Change Checker, George said: “Becoming the first person to win back-to-back Coin Story of the Year awards is a real privilege. While I’ve hung up the coin cape with my move to The Times, it’s great to see This is Money once again recognised for the consistent excellence of its coin coverage.”
A big thank you once again to AllAboutCoins for supporting us this year and of course a huge congratulations to all of our winners and all the fantastic entries we had this year.
We’d like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support in 2021 and hope that 2022 is a fantastic year of Change Checking for you all!
Never miss a future UK coin issue!
Join the Change Checker UK CERTIFIED BU Subscription Service and receive new UK coins sent to your door without the hassle of placing orders on the day of release!