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Can you complete the shield!?
It’s been 16 years since Matthew Dent redesigned the UK’s definitive coins to create the Royal Shield of Arms design, and we now have the New UK Coinage for King Charles III which will replace these designs.
So it’s hard to believe there are still some people who don’t actually realise that these coins can be pieced together to complete the shield!
Time for change
In 2005, it was decided that our definitive UK coinage was due an overhaul, and The Royal Mint ran a competition for members of the public to design the new coins. Out of 4,000 designs that were submitted, The Royal Mint Advisory Committee selected Matthew Dent’s Royal Shield designs as the winner in 2008.
Speaking about his designs, Dent said “I felt that the solution to The Royal Mint’s brief lay in a united design, united in terms of theme, execution and coverage over the surface of the coins.”
Using all the coins from the 1p to the 50p and fitting them together like a jig-saw, the complete shield is revealed – as seen on the £1 coin design issued from 2008 until 2015.
Of course, the old round pound was replaced by the 12 sided Nations of the Crown £1 in 2017 and have now been withdrawn from circulation. However, the definitive 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p shield coins can still be found in your change, meaning the Royal Shield can still be collected and completed.
In fact, I bet if you were to check the change in your pocket right now, you’d be surprised by how much of the shield you’ll already be able to piece together!
Complete the Shield
So, why not try collecting the Royal Shield coins and see if you can complete the shield? And, if you’d like to give yourself even more of a challenge, how about collecting the whole shield for each year, starting with the coins issued in 2008!
To help you on your collecting journey, you can secure your own Royal Shield Collector Pack, which includes the Royal Shield 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p and 20p – all you have to do is find the 50p in your change to complete the shield.
Secure your Royal Shield Collector Pack for JUST £4.99 (+p&p) >>
Change Checker LIVE 50p Swap is coming to Cardiff Comic Con!
We’re extremely excited to announce that we’re bringing our Change Checker Live 50p Swap to Cardiff Comic Con!
Join us on Saturday 19th October and Sunday 20th October at Cardiff Comic Con in the Utilita Arena where we’ll be giving collectors the chance to swap ANY UK 50p coin for a brand new Brilliant Uncirculated UK 50p.
Usually, collectors only get the chance to swap their coins for one new coin design at our live swap events, however this time is a bit different…
We’re pitting two extremely popular 50p series against each other and giving you the choice of either a Star Wars™ Character Duo 50p OR a Star Wars™ Spacecraft 50p!
Our Brilliant Uncirculated UK 50ps will usually set you back £5.99, plus postage – so this is your chance to get your hands on one in superior collector quality for just face value!
We’ll be taking 1,600 coins with us to swap over the weekend – half made from a mix of Star Wars™ Character Duo 50ps and the other half a mix of Star Wars™ Spacecraft 50ps – but which series will prove most popular?
Which 50p series would you chose?
At Change Checker HQ, we’ve been having quite the debate about which of these Star Wars™ series is the best, and to settle the argument once and for all, we need your help!
If you come to see us at the show, you’ll get the choice to swap your 50p for either a Star Wars™ Character Duo 50p OR a Star Wars™ Spacecraft 50p, and once you’ve made your decision, we’ll ask you to vote by placing a token in our voting tubes.
And if you’re not coming, don’t worry – we’ll be sharing the vote results at regular intervals on our social media channels, so make sure you stay tuned to keep up to date!
Cardiff Comic Con
Comic Con is a fan convention where attendees celebrate films, cult television series, video games, anime, cosplay and comic books. Cardiff Comic Con boasts around 6,000 guests each year, with some of the biggest names in the pop culture industry attending.
Credit: filmandcomicconcardiff.com
Find out more about what’s going on at this year’s Cardiff Comic Con here >>
FAQs
Where can I find you at the show?
Our exact location at the show is yet to be confirmed, but we’ll update this blog as soon as we know more information.
How many coins can I swap?
Such is the popularity of our Live Coin Swaps, and to ensure it’s fair for everybody, we’re limiting the number of swaps to strictly 1 swap per person.
Can I reserve a coin before I arrive?
To ensure a fair swap event for everyone, we do not offer reservations of coins. It is a strictly first come first served basis.
Will you have other coins with you at the show?
As well as the coins for swapping, we’ll have each of the 8 Star Wars™ 50p coins available to buy, along with some other coins we think collectors will enjoy.
Where can I buy tickets for the show?
You can buy tickets on the Cardiff Comic Con website >>
Can’t make it?
Whilst we hope to see you at our Live Swap, if you’re unable to come along, you can still secure these coins for your collection in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
Which RARE definitive 50p coins should you be looking out for?
At Change Checker, we often talk a lot about the commemorative coins you can find in your change, but did you know there are some definitive coins that can be just as rare? Join me as we delve into the world of definitive 50p coins, and which ones you should be looking out for in your change.
Britannia 50ps
Britannia, a fictional representation of Britain itself, first appeared on our coins in Roman times, but became a more permanent figure on UK coins in 1960s. Since its decimal introduction in 1969, Britannia could be found on the definitive 50p all the way up to 2008, when her portrait was replaced by the Royal Shield design.
Britannia 50ps are some of the most common coins in circulation, however there is one date you should keep an eye out for. If you come across a 2008 dated Britannia 50p, you should consider yourself lucky, as only 3,500,000 of these entered circulation!
This year was particularly significant because it marked the final time the Britannia design was issued for circulation before the introduction of the Royal Shield design.
Royal Shield 50ps
Next, let’s turn our attention to the Royal Shield 50ps, which featured on definitive UK 50ps from 2008 to 2022. The Royal Shield 50p was introduced in 2008 as part of Matthew Dent’s new definitive designs on the 1p to the 50p, which when fitted together, actually reveal the Royal Shield.
The last Royal Shield 50p issued for circulation was in 2022, and since then we’ve had the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the Coronation of King Charles III – so there’s been a shakeup in UK definitive coins!
The first definitive coins featuring King Charles III were revealed in October 2023, and the first one to enter circulation was the Atlantic Salmon 50p. Despite an estimated 500,000 Salmon 50ps entering circulation in November 2023, collectors have been finding them hard to come by!
Despite the Royal Shield being the definitive UK 50p design for a 14 year period, not every year saw them entering circulation. Royal Shield 50ps dated 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018 and 2021 are particularly special, because they were never intended for general circulation.
Instead, they were exclusively issued in annual coin sets, so the only way they could have ended up in your change is if a Brilliant Uncirculated version had been broken out of its collector pack and spent! Due to this, it’s not known how many Royal Shield 50ps with these dates are out there, but they do crop up from time to time, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for them!
Finally, there is one more definitive coin that we need to talk about – the 2017 Royal Shield 50p. Unlike its set-exclusive counterparts, this coin was released into circulation, however it has a mintage figure of just 1,800,000. This makes the 2017 Royal Shield 50p the rarest definitive 50p in circulation since the smaller 50p specification was introduced in 1997. So if you’re lucky enough to have one, you’ve got a true gem in your collection!
So, now you’re in the know about the rare definitive 50ps to watch out for in your change.
Do you have any of the coins I’ve mentioned in your collection? Let me know in the comments!
Secure the King Charles III New UK Coinage Set
If you haven’t been lucky enough to come across a King Charles III Salmon 50p in your change, you can secure it as part of the New UK Coinage Set which includes all 8 new definitive coin designs with a special privy mark on the obverse.
