Posts Tagged ‘Change Checker’
Olympic Gold Medallist Signs Team GB 50ps for Change Checker!
2024 is shaping up to be an unforgettable Summer of Sport, as our Team GB athletes secured an incredible 65 medals – including 14 Golds – in the Olympic Games in Paris.
And it doesn’t stop there, as next week we look forward to the Paralympic Games and cheer on our ParalympicsGB team in their quest for sporting success.
Team GB 50ps going for gold
*** SOLD OUT IN LESS THAN 2 HOURS ***
We’ve certainly got Olympic Fever here at Change Checker HQ, so you can imagine just how excited we were to team up with none other than a 2024 Gold Medallist to sign the Team GB 50p coins!
Not just a Gold Medallist, but the man chosen to be the Team GB flag bearer at the Paris 2024 closing ceremony!
I’m talking about the incredible Triathlon Gold Medal winner, Alex Yee.
You’ll remember that he was the man falling further and further behind the leader during the Triathlon, with commentators concerned he might not be able to hold on to silver, only to put on the burners and win an incredible gold medal!
We joined forces with Alex to bring you the exclusive Signed 2024 UK Team GB 50p.
Alex Yee has just finished signing the first few pieces over in America where he’s also won the Supertri Boston Triathlon!
SOLD OUT in 90 minutes
Just 500 signed Team GB 50ps will ever be available, and they SOLD OUT in just 90 minutes on pre-order!
Alex Yee’s unforgettable triumph in Paris has already secured his place among Britain’s sporting greats and 500 lucky collectors now own a tangible memory of this historic moment.
Can you think of a better way of owning the official UK Team GB 50p than it being signed by our flag bearer and Olympic Gold Medallist?
And, as well as looking ahead to the start of the Paralympic Games next week, these coins are the perfect way to celebrate Britain’s sporting success this summer.
Missed out?
If you weren’t one of the lucky 500 collectors to secure a signed Team GB 50p, fear not! You can still secure a piece of Olympic history, with the Limited Edition Signed Olympic Print.
Signed by five of Britain’s most legendary Olympic Gold Medallists: Sebastian Coe, Duncan Goodhew, Tessa Sanderson, Daley Thompson, and Allan Wells – this is a true collectors item!
A Legendary New Coin – The Little John £5
Every leader needs a loyal lieutenant, and that’s exactly what Little John was to Robin Hood in the English folklore story. The third and final coin in the Robin Hood Collection features none other than the towering warrior himself, Little John.
A powerful design
The reverse design, by Jody Clark, shows Little John standing tall amongst the trees of Sherwood Forest, quarterstaff in hand. John was was known to be a master of the quarterstaff, a traditional European polearm dating back to the mid-16th century.
The design is actually taken from the 2022 Little John Bullion coin, which was part of the Royal Mint’s Myths and Legends bullion mini-series.
To highlight the dynamic design, your 2024 UK Little John £5 has been struck to a Brilliant Uncirculated quality – the standard favoured among collectors.
Who is Little John?
Little John appeared in some of the earliest versions of Robin Hood ballads and stories – some dating back to the 15th century! He is predominantly known as Robin Hood’s chief lieutenant and second in command of the Merry Men.
Sometimes depicted as nearly 7 foot tall and incredibly brave and strong, “Little” John gained his ironic nickname in reference to his large frame.
Image Credit: Louis Rhead, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Little John has been portrayed in countless ballads, literature, plays, TV shows and films, but it was in a 17th century Robin Hood ballad, where John and Hood’s first meeting was described in most detail.
Little John tried to prevent Hood from crossing a narrow bridge, whereupon they fought with quarterstaffs, and Robin was overcome. Despite having won the duel, John agreed to join his band and fight alongside him – this is now the most popular explanation of how the two outlaws met.
Previously in the Myths and Legends series…
The 2024 Little John £5 coin is the final coin in the Robin Hood Collection, which has previously featured the Robin Hood £5 and the Maid Marian £5.
Robin Hood and Maid Marian
Prior to the Robin Hood Collection, the first three coins in the Myths and Legends series focused on Arthurian Legends. The series kicked off with the King Arthur £5, followed by mythical wizard Merlin and concluded with shapeshifter and witch, Morgan Le Fay.
King Arthur, Merlin and Morgan le Fay
The Myths and Legends £5 series has united minting excellence with timeless legends of British folklore, featuring some of the most legendary mythical characters ever.
Do you have any of these coins in your collection? And what legend or folklore story would you like to see feature on UK coins? Let us know in the comments below!
Continue your Myths and Legends collection
Secure your 2024 UK Little John £5 for just £13.99 (+p&p) >>
Could your King Charles III Banknote be worth £17,000?
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 the monarch, people or institutions that were involved in the development of the note, but others can fetch hefty sums at auction!
King Charles III banknote under the hammer
In August 2024, Spink & Sons held four auctions, one for each denomination of the King Charles III banknote to raise funds for charity, and a whopping £914,127 was raised overall!
The proceeds from the auctions were shared between 10 charities that were chosen by the Bank of England:
- Childhood Trust
- The Trussell Trust
- Shout
- Carers UK
- Demelza
- WWF-UK
- The Brain Tumour Charity
- London’s Air Ambulance Charity
- Child Bereavement UK
- The Samaritans
At the auction for the King Charles III £10 banknotes, a single £10 note with the serial number HB01 000002 sold for an astonishing £17,000!
The £50 banknote auction even broke the record for the highest lot sold in a Bank of England banknote auction. A sheet of 40 £50 banknotes sold for £26,000 – 13 times their face value!
Which serial numbers should you be looking out for?
Whilst the very first banknotes aren’t released into general circulation, there are other serial numbers that are also considered collectable.
JMW Turner £20 Notes
As the polymer £20 note featured JMW Turner on the reverse, some serial numbers matching key dates relating to the painter became highly collectible. For example, 23 041775 represents Turner’s date of birth, whilst 19 121851 relates to his death and 17 751851 would be his birth and death combined.
Image Credit: Bank of England
True Turner fans might also look for 18 381839 representing the date he painted ‘The Fighting Temeraire’ (which featured on the new £20 note) and the date the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy respectively.
Alan Turing £50 Notes
The £50 note features famous scientist and mathematician, Alan Turing, and similarly to the £20 note, certain serial numbers matching key dates relating to Alan Turing became collectable.
Image Credit: Bank of England
Serial numbers such as 23 061912 (which represents Turing’s date of birth), 07 061954 (which relates to his death) and 09 071941 (which represents the date that the enigma code was cracked by Turing and his team at Bletchley Park during WW2) are all ones to look out for. .
Others include AK47, due to the machine gun connotations, and 007 which could be desirable to James Bond fans.
The hunt is on!
With this news that King Charles III banknotes have sold for much more than face value, the hunt is on to find others with interesting or collectable serial numbers.
If you’ve come across any King Charles III banknote, let us know in the comments where you found it and whether it’s got an interesting or rare serial number!
Safely store your King Charles III banknote collection
If you do have any King Charles III banknotes in your collection that you don’t fancy parting with, you can securely store them in the Change Checker Complete Polymer Banknote Collecting Pack, which now includes spaces for King Charles III banknotes!
