Posts Tagged ‘Coins’
Vote for your favourite 50p coins from the last 50 years!
This year the 50p celebrates 50 years since its introduction in 1969, when it was released as the first coin in the new decimal series.
In 1967, the Deputy Master of The Royal Mint approached the Decimal Currency Board to discuss the introduction of a new coin as a more economical replacement for the 10 shilling note or ’10 bob’, which was only lasting 5 months in circulation at the time, compared to the 50 year lifespan of a coin. With much difficulty and debate to decide upon the best shape, the seven sided design was finally chosen (the first of its kind) and released 2 years later.
The original reverse was designed by Christopher Ironside and featured the seated Britannia alongside a lion. This coin was issued between 1969 and 2008, after which The Royal Mint held a public competition to redesign the reverse of UK coins, with Matthew Dent’s winning shield design featuring on the reverse of definitive 50p coins since.
Vote for your favourite 50p coin!
There have been over 70 designs released on UK 50p coins over the last 50 years, and their longevity is testament to the 50 year lifespan claimed by the Deputy Master of The Royal Mint.
But with so many different 50p designs being issued, which one is your favourite?
We’ve split the coins up into the 4 categories below so that you can vote for your favourite from each before choosing an overall winner out of the top 4 shortlisted.
Click on the links below to vote for each category:
- Vote for your favourite Pre 1997 50p here >>
- Vote for your favourite Beatrix Potter here 50p >>
- Vote for your favourite Olympic 50p here >>
- Vote for your favourite Modern 50p here >>
We’ll announce the top 4 coins shortlisted and give you the chance to vote for your favourite overall 50p coin next week.
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 today at: www.changechecker.org/app
50 years of The Royal Mint at Llantrisant… The move to decimalisation
Standing strong for over 1,100 years throughout Britain’s wars, political upheavals, social and economic progress and technological and scientific advances, The Royal Mint’s history can be traced back through our country’s coinage.
But it was on the 17th of December 50 years ago that The Queen herself opened the new site for The Royal Mint, which was moved to a purpose-built site in Llantrisant following 157 years at Tower Hill, London.
This was the first time since its inception that The Royal Mint had been based outside of London, and marked an incredibly important moment in the history of our coins.
The Queen opening the new Royal Mint in Wales. Credit: royalmintmuseum.org.uk
The move to Llantrisant
In 1966 it was announced that Britain would adopt a new decimal currency. This meant that hundreds of millions of new coins would need striking and Tower Hill simply didn’t have enough space to cope with this demand and so the decision was made to find a new location for The Royal Mint.
Llantrisant made it onto the shortlist of the top 7 locations, and as James Callaghan (Chancellor of the Exchequer, Master of the Mint and an MP for Cardiff) supported a move to Wales, Llantrisant was chosen for the big move.
Staff from Tower Hill visiting the new Royal Mint site in Llantrisant. Credit: royalmintmuseum.org.uk
Britain’s new Mint
The announcement was made in 1967 and construction soon began on the new site. For the Llantrisant area, the move meant more work and a regeneration of the town, as well as adding to the sense of history and tradition. It was estimated that the move would provide 10,000 jobs to South Wales.
It was in 1968 that the site was officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen when she switched on the coining presses to begin production of decimal bronze coins.
Llantrisant was built to house the most advanced coining machinery in the world and have a larger capacity than any other mint in Europe, necessary to cope with the amount of new coinage needed.
When the site opened, the circulating coin presses could strike up to 200 coins per minute, however the latest generation of presses today strike around 750 coins per minute!
Decimalisation of Britain’s coins
The 15th of February 1971 is known as the day that Britain “went decimal”.
Whilst this was the official ‘Decimal Day’, three years before this, the new 5p and 10p coins were actually introduced. These coins were the same size and value as the existing one and two shilling coins to make the transition easier for the British public.
It was in 1969 that the first seven sided coin – the 50p – was introduced to replace the 10-shilling note as a more economical alternative and then finally, on Monday 15 February 1971, the transition was complete when the half penny, 1p and 2p coins were also introduced.
The new Mint at Llantrisant successfully transformed hundreds of years of everyday currency from 12 pennies to the shilling and 20 shillings to the pound, to the new pound made from 100 new pence.
Royal Mint coin production plant. Credit: dailymail.co.uk
Today the Royal Mint is the market leader and the largest single supplier of plated coins and blanks in Europe. They can produce 90 million coins and blanks a week – that’s almost 5 billion coins a year!
And all this has been made possible thanks to the advanced facilities at Llantrisant, as pictured above, without which the move to decimal coinage simply wouldn’t have been possible.
Own this Historic Royal Mint anniversary DateStamp™
To mark the move of The Royal Mint to Llandistrant, you have the opportunity to own the Royal Mint in Wales 50th Anniversary DateStampTM.
Featuring the 2016 Wales £20 coin with the iconic Welsh dragon design, and postmarked 17th December 2018, exactly 50 years since The Royal Mint moved to Wales.
Discover the coins issued to mark the Armistice centenary from around the world…
In this incredibly poignant year, 100 years since the end of World War One, a number of stunning coins have been issued across the world to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the fight for freedom.
Over the year, we’ve been researching coins from all over the world, and the theme that brings us all together in 2018, is the Armistice Centenary. A number of truly stunning coins have been released to mark the anniversary and below are some of our favourites, chosen from world renowned Mints around the world marking this important Armistice centenary anniversary.
Change Checkers have been voting for which coin shown below is their favourite, and the results can be found at the bottom of this blog.
United Kingdom £2
2018 UK Armistice £2
This £2 is the final coin issued as part of the First World War £2 series first issued by The Royal Mint in 2014. Issued earlier in 2018, the design by Stephen Raw features the words ‘The truth untold, the pity of war’, from the Wilfred Owen poem Strange Meeting. The words stand out of a mud-like background in the centre of this striking £2 coin, which was actually modelled in the clay taken by the artist from the Sambre-Oise Canal where Wilfred Owen died in 1918.
United Kingdom £5
2018 UK Remembrance Day £5
To honour the sacrifices of all those who have risked and continue to risk their lives to protect our freedom, a UK £5 coin was issued by The Royal Mint. The coin features a design by Laura Clancy on the reverse symbolic of the resilient and determined poppies that grew amidst the chaos in the valley of the Somme and colour printing has been used to highlight the vibrant red in the poppy design. This coin stands as a poignant reminder of the brave men and women who have lost their lives or have been injured in conflicts past and present.
Isle of Man 50p
2018 Isle of Man First World War Centenary 50p
This 50p was chosen by the Isle of Man Government to commemorate the First World War Armistice Centenary. As a special acknowledgement to the sacrifices made by the 1,165 Manx men who lost their lives in the war, a specially minted coin featuring distinctive red poppies was presented to each child in full time education on the Isle of Man. Cupro-Nickel versions of the coin without the red poppies went into general circulation. The new coin features ‘The Manxman’ from the top of the Douglas War Memorial and the words ‘Their name liveth for evermore’.
Canada $2
2018 Canadian Armistice $2 coins – uncoloured and coloured
In October this year, The Royal Canadian Mint unveiled these finely crafted $2 coins issued to remember the sacrifices of Canadians who fought for freedom during WWI. Just 3 million coins have been minted – two million of a stunning coloured version and one million of the non-coloured coin, both of which have been released into circulation in Canada. The reverse image by artist Laurie McGaw features a soldier’s helmet in the centre to represent the many lives lost during WWI and the large poppy beneath it is inspired by the Canadian poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ by John McCrae, who died in combat in January, 1918.
US 1 Dollar
2018 World War I Centennial 2018 Proof Silver Dollar. Credit: usmint.gov
More than 4 million men and women from the United States served in the First World War and so to commemorate the centenary of World War I and honor the American soldiers, this Proof Silver Dollar has been issued. The obverse design is titled “Soldier’s Charge” and depicts a soldier gripping his rifle, with the words, “LIBERTY,” “1918,” and “IN GOD WE TRUST.” The reverse design is titled “Poppies in the Wire,” featuring poppies mixed amongst brutal barbed wiring.
New Zealand 50-cent
2018 New Zealand Armistice 50-cent
The 2018 Armistice 50 cent coin follows the Anzac coin which was minted in 2015 to mark the centenary of New Zealand’s efforts in WW1. Designed by Dave Burke, the reverse of this 50 Cent features a coloured red poppy flower surrounded by a wreath and the three silver ferns on the wreath represent the three services of the New Zealand Defence Force: Army, Navy and Air Force. The 50-cent coins were released into circulation in New Zealand but were actually struck by The Royal Canadian Mint, where all 10, 20 and 50 cent coins are currently minted for New Zealand.
Australia $2
2018 Australia Armistice $2
Released by The Royal Australian Mint, the new $2 Armistice coin serves as a tangible and visible reminder to all Australians of the fight for freedom 100 years ago. Designed by T Dean and developed with the assistance of the Australian War Memorial, the coin features the number 100 to signify the important Armistice Centenary Anniversary, and the centre zero features a red coloured poppy. The coin features a ‘C’ mintmark, meaning the coin has been struck at the Canberra Mint and is a stunning keepsake in this centenary year.
France €2
2018 France 2 Euro
Issued by La Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint), this €2 coin features a cornflower, a symbol of remembrance in France. This dates back to WWI as soldier’s uniforms were blue and these flowers, as well as poppies, continued to grow in land devastated by war. The flower also symbolizes delicacy and innocence.
Hungary HUF 2,000
2018 Hungary HUF 2,000. Credit: www.mnb.hu
The Magyar Nemzeti Bank in Hungary paid homage to the heroic efforts and the sacrifice made by Hungarian soldiers by issuing a 2,000 HUF collector coin. The dominant design featured on the obverse shows a section of a world map with Europe as the centre and starred settlement names in boxes where the most significant battles took place involving Hungarian soldiers. The reverse depicts a scene from the trenches, showing trench warfare and the tragedy of war, as well as the heroism and comradery of the soldiers.
Solomon Islands $1
2018 Solomon Islands $1. Credit: www.bnt.org.uk
The Solomon Islands have issued this limited edition 1 dollar coin featuring a cluster of vivid red Remembrance poppies against the Union Flag background. The reverse design has the important centenary dates and the words ‘LEST WE FORGET’. As a commonwealth country, the reverse of this coin features the Queen’s portrait.
Each coin pays its own historic tribute to this significant anniversary marked by millions of people around the world. Change Checker’s voted for their favourite of the stunning coins above, and the results are now in, with the UK Remembrance Day £5 coming in first place, followed by the Solomon Islands $1 and the Isle of Man First World War Centenary 50p.
Mark the historic Armistice Centenary anniversary!
This year marks the centenary of Armistice, arguably the most important military anniversary to be celebrated in British history.