Blog Home
Striking designs – A look at football themed UK coins
EURO 2024 kicked off on 14th June 2024 and England made it all the way to the final! Unfortunately, Spain took the trophy, but in honour of the beautiful game, we’ve taken a look back at some of the UK coins that have been issued to celebrate football.
1996 Football Single Metal £2
The single metal Football £2 was issued in 1996 to celebrate England hosting the 10th European football championships.
Before 1997, £2 coins were struck from a single-coloured, nickel-brass and were mainly produced for collectors and reserved for very special occasions.
The reverse design resembles a football, and is accentuated by an unusual concave surface of the coin. The year of 1996 is prominent, and the sixteen small rings represent the teams who competed in the tournament. Only 5,141,350 1996 Football £2 coins were ever minted.
2011 Olympic Football 50p
In 2011, a year before London hosted the Olympic Games, 29 new 50p coins were issued, each representing a different Olympic sport.
The football 50p was possibly the most publicised of them all, as it features the hotly debated offside rule in the form of a simple diagram. Designer Neil Wolfson, a sports journalist by trade, chose an image which he felt would encapsulate the sport whilst also provoking discussion.
The Olympic Football 50p is also the rarest of the Olympic 50ps with a mintage figure of just 1,125,500.
2022 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup £2
To mark 150 years of the FA Cup, The Royal Mint issued this £2 coin in 2022. Designers Matt Dent and Christian Davies created a design featuring the famed FA Cup Trophy in the centre.
Ribbons on each side of the trophy represent the first staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup (1871-72) and the 141st season which marked the 150th anniversary (2021-22).
2023 Pride of England £5
In 2022, England won the Woman’s EURO 2022 after beating Germany 2-1. The following year in 2023, the team embarked on their biggest competition to date – the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
To celebrate the Lionesses and their successes, The Royal Mint struck this £5 coin in 2023. The reverse of the coin features the iconic ‘three lions’ emblem in a design by Norman Sillman.
The England team made it to the final of the 2023 World Cup, but unfortunately Spain took home the cup.
An honourable mention…
Although not technically a football coin, the 1997 Three Lions £1 does feature the heraldic three lions design which has become synonymous with English football, so we thought it was worth a mention!
The three lions date back to Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199) who used three golden lions on a scarlet background as a powerful symbol of the English throne.
The design of the 1997 £1, by Norman Sillman, was actually the original design that inspired the 2023 Pride of England £5.
Vote for your favourite football coin
We asked you which of these football themed UK coins is your favourite, and the results are in…with a huge 45.6% of the votes, the 1996 Football £2 won the vote!
Kick off your football collection
To celebrate England making it to the EURO 2024 Final, you can own the Pride of England £5 is Limited Edition Finalists Display Card for just £12.50 (+p&p) >>
Here’s where you can find the new King Charles III Banknotes…
The new King Charles III Banknotes entered circulation on 5th June 2024, and collectors have been rushing to secure the ones with the lowest serial number. The branch manager at Sunderland City Post Office even said people were queueing waiting for their doors to open on 5th June to get their hands on the new notes.
Only a select few places are stocking the King Charles III banknotes, so far so here’s where you can get your hands on them…
Post Offices
- Sunderland City, SR1, 1RR
- The City of London, EC2M 5TE
- Moorgate, EC2M 5TE
- Broadway, SW1H 0AX
- Houndsditch, E1 7BS
- Piccadilly Plaza in Manchester, M2 1BB
- Portsmouth, PO1 1AB
- Birmingham, B2 4AA
- Great Massingham, PE31 6HP
- Tetbury, GL8 8DB
- Minchinhampton, GL6 9BN
- Windsor, SL4 1AA
- Woodstock, OX20 1SP
- Poundbury, DT1 3AZ
The Bank of England Counter
- Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8AH – The counter will be issuing new King Charles III banknotes from 5th June to 11th June 2024 with a limit of £300 per customer.
Bank of England Postal Exchange Service
- You can obtain King Charles III banknotes using the Bank of England’s postal exchange service from 5th June to 30th June 2024 with a limit of £300 per customer.
Apply for postal exchange service here >>
If you’ve managed to get your hands on a King Charles III banknote, let us know where in the comments!
A closer look at the first ever King Charles III Banknotes
Find out everything you need to know about the new banknotes and their special security features by reading our blog >>
First King Charles III Banknotes ENTER CIRCULATION!
The first banknotes featuring King Charles III entered circulation on 5th June 2024, here’s everything you need to know.
Credit: Bank of England
Hot off the press
In November 2023, The Bank of England started printing new banknotes featuring King Charles III at a rate of 6 million in 24 hours. The delay in them entering circulation was apparently caused by machines such as self service tills not being able to recognise the new image and needing to be recalibrated.
Credit: Bank of England Flickr
The Bank of England’s chief cashier, Sarah John, said “There is a lot to do to ensure that machines used up and down the country can accept the banknotes. They all need to be adapted to recognise the new design, with software updates, and that takes months and months. Otherwise, we will be putting a banknote out there that people simply would not be able to use.”
A sustainable transition
Taking guidance from the Royal Household, the new banknotes will only be issued to replace worn or damaged Queen Elizabeth II notes, meaning both monarchs’ portraits will co-circulate for the foreseeable future.
There are approximately 4.7 billion Queen Elizabeth II banknotes currently in circulation, worth an estimated £82 billion, so don’t worry – they’ll still be accepted in shops as well as the new King Charles III notes.
This transition phase will minimise the environmental and financial impact of the change, in keeping with the King’s vision for a more sustainable future.
King Charles III’s portrait will now appear on the front of the notes, an image based on an engraving of a picture of His Majesty taken in 2013, however there will be no changes to the current reverse designs:
- Winston Churchill (£5)
- Jane Austen (£10)
- JMW Turner (£20)
- Alan Turing (£50)
Credit: Bank of England
Security Features
All denominations of the new banknotes share some of the same security features which you can use to verify the authenticity of the note.
Monarch’s portrait in a see-through window
A portrait of King Charles III is printed on the window with the denomination and ‘Bank of England’ printed twice around the edge.
Hologram Image Change
When tilting the note from side to side, the word within the hologram should change between the value of the note, ‘Five’, ‘Ten’, ‘Twenty’ or ‘Fifty’ and ‘Pounds’.
Silver foil patch
A silver foil patch contains a 3D image of the coronation crown.
Print Quality
The printed lines and colours on the note are sharp and clear, with no smudges or blurred edges. If you use a magnifying glass, you should be able to see the value of the note written in small letters and numbers below the monarch’s portrait.
Feel of polymer and raised print
The note is printed on polymer, a thin and flexible plastic. On the front of the note, you can feel the raised print on the words ‘Bank of England’ and in the bottom right corner.
Ultraviolet number
Under a UV light, the denomination number appears in bright green and red on the front of the note.
£5 features
Here are some security features specific to the £5 notes.
Colour changing border
When the note is tilted, a coloured border around the edge of the see-through window and the ‘£’ symbol inside the window will change from purple to green.
Green foil patch
On the other side of the silver foil patch showing the coronation crown, the £5 has a green foil patch featuring the word ‘BLENHEIM’.
£10 features
Here are some security features specific to the £10 notes.
Colour changing quill
When the £10 note is tilted, a coloured quill at the side of the see-through window will change from purple to orange.
Copper foil patch
On the other side of the silver foil patch showing the coronation crown, the £10 has a copper foil patch containing the letters ‘JA’ within an open book, representing Jane Austen.
£20 features
Here are some security features specific to the £20 notes.
A second see-through window
In the bottom right corner of the front of the £20 note, there is a second, smaller see-through window containing the number 20.
Purple foil patch
On the other side of the silver foil patch showing the coronation crown, the £20 has a purple foil patch containing the letter ‘T’ for JMW Turner.
£50 features
Here are some security features specific to the £50 notes.
A second see-through window
In the bottom right corner of the front of the £50 note, there is a second, smaller see-through window containing the number 50.
Hologram change
The £50 note has two gold foil squares on the front, and the images within should change between ‘50’ and the ‘£’ symbol when the note is tilted.
Red foil patch
On the other side of the silver foil patch showing the coronation crown, the £50 has a red foil patch containing the letters ‘AT’, paying tribute to Alan Turing who features on the note.
Rare serial numbers
Whenever new banknotes are issued, it causes quite a stir in the collecting community, with serious collectors rushing to secure the notes with the lowest serial numbers.
The Bank of England generally hold back some of the notes with the earliest serial numbers, donating them to people or institutions that were involved in the development of the note, but others can fetch hefty sums at auction!
For example, serial numbers such as AK47 due to the machine gun connotations, and 007 which could be desirable to James Bond fans are considered collectable, as well as serial numbers representing key dates relating to the figure on the reverse of the note.
On 11th July 2024, a King Charles III £20 note with the serial number EH 01 000002 sold for £7,000 at auction – that’s 350 times its face value!
Find out more about which serial numbers to look out for here >>
A closer look
Where can I find a King Charles III banknote?
Eventually, we’ll start to see King Charles III banknotes crop up in our cash, but as their introduction will be a gradual process, some collectors may not want to wait to get their hands on one.
Check out our list of the first locations to stock the new banknotes >>
Credit: Bank of England
Have you found one in circulation already? Let us know where in the comments!
Safely store your new banknotes
With the release of these new banknotes, now’s the perfect time to start your banknote collection, by owning the Change Checker Polymer Banknote Collecting Pack – with space to securely house all four of England’s polymer banknotes!
