Posts Tagged ‘Coin collection’
2018’s most popular RAF £2 revealed!
The votes are in and you have chosen your favourite 2018 RAF £2 coin!
Following the reveal of the five brand new £2 coins issued by The Royal Mint this year to commemorate the Centenary of the Royal Air Force, we asked Change Checkers to vote for their favourite design on our previous blog introducing the new coins
Each stunning design features an iconic RAF aircraft, from the modern F35 Lightning to the famous Spitfire, with the first coin in the series depicting the badge of the RAF to celebrate the Royal Air Force as a whole.
Our poll has now closed, and I do have to say that the results were very close! But we can now reveal that the most popular RAF £2 coin design has been chosen and first place goes to the magnificent Sea King, receiving just over 28% of your votes.
1. Sea King
This is the fourth coin in the RAF series and although it’s available to pre-order now, it will be officially released in August for those of you looking to add the Sea King £2 to your collection.
Known as the ‘angel on our shoulders’, the Sea King helicopter acted exclusively in a search and rescue role from 1978, with the final mission taking place on the 4th of October 2015.
In 2012, Prince William himself flew a Sea King during a training exercise which ended in a rescue mission when two girls were swept out to sea in a riptide.
2. Spitfire
Coming in a very close second is one of the most famous planes ever built, the Supermarine Spitfire.
This is the second coin in the series and is available now to add to your collection. The coin beautifully depicts the iconic image of the Spitfire, designed by Reginald Mitchell.
First flying in 1936, this short range interceptor aircraft was known as the backbone of the RAF Fighter Command and was much loved amongst its pilots.
3. Vulcan
In third place is the legendary Vulcan bomber, the third coin in the RAF series, which is also available now to add to your collection.
This coin captures the instantly recognisable delta wing of the awesome Vulcan in flight, an exhilarating sight to behold.
Unmatched by any other bomber from the jet-age, this aircraft truly was the epitome of power during its service from 1956 until 1984.
4. Badge
Voted in fourth place is the RAF badge coin, the first coin in the series which has been available to order since the start of the year.
Royal Mint designer, Rhys Morgan created this coin based upon the badge which was originally used at the first Air Council meeting in 1918 and then registered in the 1920s with the Royal College of Arms.
Capturing the spirit of the RAF as a whole, this design symbolises the RAF’s resilience over the past century.
5. Lightning F35
Last, but by no means least, is the Lightning or F35 fighter jet, the fifth coin in the series. This coin can be pre-ordered now and will be officially released in September.
The F35 is the RAF’s newest aircraft which operates alongside the Typhoon, creating a potent mix of stealth and power.
Reviving Britain’s sea-bourne operations, these supersonic planes are set to be in service by December this year.
Overall, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who voted in our poll and helped us determine the most popular RAF £2 coin.
I think the design of the Sea King £2 perfectly captures the dedication of the RAF and this superb machine to ensure the safety of the people of the UK, and perhaps this is the reason why it has been voted as your favourite.
Pre order 2018’s most popular RAF £2 coin!
You can now pre-order the RAF Sea King £2 in certified Brilliant Uncirculated quality, protectively encapsulated to preserve its quality for generations to come.
Could I be minted? The 6 point guide to valuing your coin!
So, you’ve been hunting down that coin for what feels like a lifetime and now it’s finally turned up in your change! But after the excitement and thrill of finding that elusive coin, you find yourself asking the question, “What do I do next?”…
There are a number of options for deciding what to do with your coin and whilst many collectors enjoy holding onto them to build their collection, pass down to children, or potentially see their value change, lots of people look to sell these coins on auction sites, through dealers or on eBay.
The rarest coins out there can sell for far more than their face value, for example the Kew Gardens 50p has been known to sell up to £249 on eBay – nearly 500 times its face value! (*Correct as of April 2024).
The 6 Point Guide to valuing your coins
Before deciding whether to sell or save, you should first take a look through our 6 point guide to make sure you’re getting the most out of your coin:
1) How does your coin rate on the Scarcity Index?
The Change Checker Scarcity Index tracks which coins are the most scarce and collectable using a unique combination of mintage, collecting and swap data to give the most up-to-date picture of the collecting market.
The higher the Scarcity Index score for your coin, the more sought-after it will be to collectors.
2) How much is your coin worth?
It can be difficult to work out an exact value of a coin, as this depends on so many variants. However, once you have completed point 1, you will have a better understanding of how collectable your coin might be.
The next step is to check previously sold items on auction sites such as eBay to see how much potential buyers are willing to pay. Luckily, we’ve done the hard work for you and have put together our eBay Tracker which takes the last 9 sold listings* on eBay for 10 of the UK’s most popular coins and banknotes and works out the median selling price.
*Note: It is very important to check ‘Sold listings’ rather than active listings, as the price a coin is listed for may not be the actual price it sells at.
View our latest eBay Tracker here >>
3) How easy is it to buy your coin?
If your coin can still be purchased in Brilliant Uncirculated quality from an official Royal Mint distributor, it is unlikely that a collector would pay the same price for a circulation quality coin which might have imperfections.
4) What condition is your coin in?
Understandably, collectors are likely to pay a little extra for a coin in pristine condition, rather than a coin showing signs of wear and tear.
However, there are some rare coins (such as the 2002 Commonwealth Games Norther Ireland £2) which are very hard to find in good condition and yet they still fetch way above face value.
5) Does your coin have a story?
It’s often true that the coins with an interesting story behind them are the hardest to get hold of and so it’s worth researching your coin on our Web App to see if you can find anything that stands out or any exciting facts about the coin.
Find your coin on the Change Checker Web App >>
It’s also important to brush up on your knowledge of errors and mis-strikes which can occur on coins in our change. Keen collectors will know that it’s worthwhile paying close attention to the small details of your coins as it’s the only way you can ever hope to spot an error or mis-strike like the undated 20p or inverted effigy Britannia £2.
Mistakes happen, and when it comes to coins, these mistakes can often be worth a lot money to eagle-eyed collectors.
Check out our video on the Top 5 Error Coins and Mis-strikes in Circulation >>
If you do need extra clarification on your coin, The Royal Mint offer an authentication service starting from £20 and will provide you with a letter to confirm the coin’s authenticity.
6) Where can you sell your coin?
Now that you have a better idea of how much you could sell your coin for and why, it’s time to find a seller that’s willing to pay! Coin dealers, auction sites, Facebook coin groups and eBay are your best bets.
You can contact a member of the British Numismatics Trade Association who will advise you on auctioning your coin, although they do charge for this service. If you’re selling on eBay, be sure to set a minimum price equal to or higher than face value and be mindful that if your coin ‘sells’ at a high price, the sale may not actually go through.
Remember, your coin is legal tender and therefore will always be worth at least face value.
Whether or not you decide to sell your coin, I think you can agree that the buzz of finding rare coins in your change is second to none and one of the best hobbies to have!
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker Web App is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Sign up to the Change Checker Web App today >>
The United Kingdom coin struck in New York
Today I would like to tell you a fascinating story about a very limited edition United Kingdom coin struck in New York almost 60 years ago.
It is extremely rare that United Kingdom coins are struck anywhere other than in the UK, however the New York Exhibition in 1960 presented a rare opportunity for The Royal Mint to take their minting expertise overseas.
The New York Exhibition
Still struggling to recover from post-war austerity, the height of Great Britain as the dominant trading nation of the world seemed a distant memory in 1960.
Britain was desperate to revive its ability to trade internationally and so the New York Exhibition was organised to demonstrate the best of British manufacturing to the American market with the hope of increasing British exports to the United States.
The 1960 New York Exhibition Crown
The New York Exhibition Crown
A brand new coin was struck for the occasion and although it was somewhat overlooked in Britain at the time, it stands out today as one of the most interesting Royal Mint coins ever struck.
That is because although just over a million New York Exhibition crowns were minted in the UK, a very small number were struck at the exhibition in New York so that visitors could see the best of British manufacturing before their own eyes.
This limited edition coin was minted especially for the visitors to the exhibition and only 70,000 coins were struck – that is less than 7% of the mintage of the ordinary circulation version!
Could I own a limited edition New York crown?
Although they were struck with a specially polished die, there were no special mintmarks on the coins struck in New York making them extremely difficult to distinguish from the ordinary uncirculated version.
However, as the ordinary uncirculated coin was somewhat overlooked at the time in Britain it too has a surprisingly low mintage – less than a fifth of the 1953 Coronation Crown and less than 6% of the 1965 Churchill Crown.
Some of the unsold crowns minted at the exhibition were brought back to the UK by The Royal Mint, meaning that there are likely to be a small number of rare crown coins which were struck in New York buried in collections across the country.
This coin played a key role in boosting Britain’s trade relationship with the United States, and the fact that a very limited number were actually minted at the exhibition in New York makes it undoubtedly one of the most interesting UK coins of the 20th century.
Own the New York Exhibition Crown struck in uncirculated condition!
We are offering collectors the chance to own the New York Exhibition Crown struck in uncirculated condition (who knows, it might even be one of the rare coins that came back from New York!).
To secure your New York Exhibition Crown for just £19.99 (+p&p), click here >>