Posts Tagged ‘Coins’
200 years of the Sovereign – Britain’s flagship coin
In 2017, we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the modern sovereign – a coin renowned for its impeccable quality and craftsmanship.
The ‘Great Recoinage’ was the British government’s attempt to re-stabilise the currency of Great Britain following economic difficulties caused by both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. On the 22nd June 1816, the Coinage Act was passed and was given Royal Assent.
Not only were silver coins reintroduced into circulation, the Gold Sovereign returned to become the symbol of Britishness across the Empire.
As we approach the 200th anniversary, we take a look at some of the key Sovereign designs through the years…
The designs that have appeared on Sovereigns throughout the years are all of significant importance but since the first ‘modern’ Sovereign 200 years ago, Benedetto Pistrucci’s St George and the dragon has become synonymous with the Sovereign, the gold coin that set new standards for accuracy that defined a currency.
Click here to download a pdf version of the Change Checker Sovereign graphic.
Own your own piece of numismatic history
Today you can reserve the brand new 2017 Bicentenary Gold Proof Sovereign
The 2015 Navy £2 is now one of the rarest coins ever!
The £2 coin that commemorates the Royal Navy’s efforts in World War One has just become one of the rarest UK coins in circulation.
The Royal Mint have confirmed that just 650,000 2015 Navy £2 coins have been struck for circulation, kicking the 2002 Commonwealth Games England £2 out of its 3rd place position.
Not only is the Navy £2 coin now the third rarest £2 coin in circulation, it is also the 4th rarest UK coin to date. Click here for the complete Change Checker Guide to UK Coin mintages.
The coin that features a battleship design by military artist David Rowlands and the 5th portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, is sure to become extremely sought after.
When it comes to collecting, there is one fact which is always inevitable – the rarest coins are always in highest demand.
So the next time you’re flicking through your coins, remember – all coins are not created equal! There are some you should count yourself lucky to have, and if you come across the 2015 Navy £2 – it might just be worth hanging on to it!
Find, Collect and Swap all of the UK commemorative coins you find in your change for free on the Change Checker app.
Visit www.changechecker.org to give it a go
Are these the most sophisticated fake £2 coins?
£2 coins were introduced in 1998 to prevent against counterfeiting and were the first bi-metallic coins to enter circulation in the UK.
£2 coins were first issued into circulation in 1998
Made with two different metal components, £2 coins are very complicated to manufacture and very difficult to counterfeit… or so we believed.
As we know, 1 in 30 £1 coins are fake. The Royal Mint are so concerned, they’ll be introducing a new 12-sided £1 coin in March which is billed to become the most secure circulating coin in the world.
But, this means that counterfeiters are now turning their attention to the £2 coin.
To begin with, early £2 counterfeit coins were just a lump of led tin alloy, spray painted to look like a genuine £2 coin and were easy to tell apart from the real thing.
Now, they’re becoming a lot harder to spot, even by professionals. Some fake £2 coins are even being accepted in vending machines and car parking machines.
So how many fakes are out there and who’s responsible?
Fraudsters require a highly sophisticated press to produce bi-colour coins. It’s thought that there are hundreds of thousands of fake £2 coins in circulation and is definitely a form of organised crime.
Can you spot one?
There are a few simple ways to tell if you have a fake £2 coin. One of the most obvious ways to spot a fake is by comparing the quality of the writing on the edge inscription to a genuine coin and also checking that the edge inscription matches the design.
However there are still some fake £2 coins that pass the two tests above.
According to experts, fakes can usually be detected by the weight. Genuine £2 coins should weigh 12g, but these remarkable new counterfeit £2 coins are also weighing in at 12g.
Each UK denomination is made up of different compositions which are agreed between The Royal Mint and HM Treasury but the exact amount is kept top secret.
The only way to find out for definite if the coin is real or fake is for it to be x-rayed by a special machine which gives a reading of all the different elements that have gone into the coin.
So should we be increasing the security of the £2 coins to make it harder for them to be counterfeited?
Let us know your thoughts via Facebook, Twitter or leave us a comment below.