Posts Tagged ‘New Year’
Vote for your favourite 2020 Annual Set coin!
The 2020 Annual Coin Set was officially released yesterday and we can’t wait to hear which coin Change Checkers will vote as their favourite!
Have your say by voting in the poll below:
Keep your eyes peeled as we’ll be revealing the winning coin soon!
*** UPDATE ***
The results are now in, and I’m pleased to announce that the Team GB 50p has been voted by Change Checkers are their favourite 2020 Annual Coin!
Did you vote for this coin? Let us know in the comments below!
Own the 2020 Commemorative Coin Set
If you can’t wait to get hold of these coins, be one of the first to own the complete set!
First look: New Royal Mint coin designs for 2020!
Happy New Year and Happy New Coins Change Checkers!
We can’t wait to reveal to you the new 2020 coin designs and I’m sure you’ll agree that there are some really fantastic coins to look forward to.
So let’s kick off the year with the coins we’ve all been waiting for, the 2020 Annual Set…
Team GB
We all love a 50p, and in this year’s Annual Coin Set The Royal Mint have issued a brand new 50p coin to support Great Britain in the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Designed by David Knapton, the 2020 Team GB 50p features symbols depicting individual Olympic sports accompanied by the Olympic Rings, the Team GB logo, the inscription ‘TEAM GB’ and the date ‘2020’.
The Olympics are an undeniably popular subject and for many the 2012 Olympic 50p series marked the start of their passion for change collecting.
In 2016 a Team GB 50p was issued to support Great Britain’s efforts in Rio and this was thought of by many as the 30th Olympic 50p, but with a new 2020 Team GB coin now being issued, could this be the 31st Olympic 50p?
We certainly love the design and I’m sure Change Checkers will think it’s a real winner too!
2020 Agatha Christie £2
English detective novelist Agatha Christie published her first novel, ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’ in 1920 and now, 100 years later, a £2 coin has been issued to commemorate her work.
Her 1920 novel introduced one of Britain’s best-loved detectives Hercule Poirot, who became a long-running character in Christie’s work, featuring in 33 novels and 54 short stories!
This coin has been designed by David Lawrence and features a nearly completed jigsaw puzzle with the final piece ready to be inserted, and the inscription ‘1920 100 YEARS OF MYSTERY 2020′.
Following the popularity of UK coins celebrating great British writers, such as the Jane Austen £2, Sherlock Holmes 50p, Charles Dickens £2, the Beatrix Potter 50ps and more, we’re sure that this new coin is bound to prove a real hit with collectors.
2020 75th Anniversary of VE Day £2
The next coin in the 2020 Annual Set marks an incredibly poignant anniversary, commemorating 75 years since VE Day and the end of the Second World War.
Victory Day in Europe celebrates the Allies of World War II formally accepting Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on the 8th May 1945, marking the end of the war.
Dominique Evans‘ design features a woman holding a newspaper aloft in crowd of celebrating people, set against a backdrop of the word VICTORY.
The edge inscription reads ‘JUST TRIUMPH AND PROUD SORROW’ which is incredibly fitting for a coin which marks such a pivotal moment in British history.
2020 Mayflower £2
2020 marks the 400th anniversary of The Mayflower’s voyage from Plymouth, England to the ‘New World’ in 1620.
This voyage saw over 100 Pilgrims and around 30 crew spend two treacherous months at sea, battling against the North Atlantic wind as they journeyed to America to establish the first permanent New England colony by signing the Mayflower Compact.
Designed by Chris Costello, the Mayflower £2 shows the ship upon a rough sea, with a guiding star in the night sky and the edge inscription ‘Undertaken for the glory of God’.
Excitingly for collectors, this is not the first time that The Mayflower has appeared on a £2 coin, as a similar design actually featured on the 1994 trial piece, which often sells for well into three figures on the secondary market!
2020 George III £5
This year marks the 200th anniversary since the death of George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland.
George’s life and reign were longer than any British monarch before him, although due to his deteriorating health during the last 10 years of his life, his eldest son George IV ruled as Prince Regent.
To celebrate the life of George III, The Royal Mint have issued a new £5 coin designed by Dominique Evans.
The coin features the portrait of King George III in a crowned cartouche at the centre of the coin, with his Royal Cypher below, floral emblems of the United Kingdom and scenes associated with his life from Windsor Castle and the Kew Observatory.
The announcement of the new annual coins is always an exciting moment for Change Checkers, particularly when the anniversaries are as significant as these.
Do you have a favourite coin from the set? Let us know in the comments below!
Own the 2020 Commemorative Coin Set
If you can’t wait to find these coins in your change, be one of the first to own the complete set!
Could your luck be in this Chinese New Year?
Today is Chinese New Year, the world’s most celebrated festival, which marks the new year on the Chinese calendar.
Many traditions and customs have been adopted over the years, with popular themes surrounding good luck and fortune for the year ahead.
Chinese New Year celebrations. Credit: Time Magazine
Chinese Lucky Cash Coin
This coin has been issued in China since 221 BCE and is thought to bring good luck.
The unusual shaped Lucky Chinese Cash Coin features a square hole at its centre to represent Earth, while the circle symbolises heaven. This combination of heaven and earth make the coin a symbol of harmony and prosperity.
Chinese Lucky Cash Coin
Chinese fortune-tellers would use cash coins, a tortoise shell, and their skill at numerology to tell the future. Because of their association with mystical prediction, these coins from China are thought to bring good luck.
Manufacture
Traditionally, these coins were cast in copper, brass or iron and in the mid-19th century they were made of 3 parts copper to 2 parts lead. Rarer silver coins were also produced and gold coins are also known to exist but are even rarer.
Early manufacture methods of these coins included carving the individual coin directly onto a soapstone or clay mould. This rough and ready approach means that early Chinese coins are very diverse, as each was cast from a different mould bearing the same inscription.
Master bronze moulds were later introduced to gain consistency.
Chinese cash coins minted between 330 BC and 1912 AD
It was in the mid 19th century that the first machine-struck cash coins were produced following the introduction of a machine operated mint in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.
These coins tended to be made from brass rather than pure copper and as the copper content decreased and cheaper metals like lead and tin became more dominant, the coins took on a yellowish tint.
Modern use
Originally the hole in the centre of the coin was used to string them together, creating higher denominations, however in the modern era the coins are strung together and placed round the necks of children, or over the beds of sick people for luck.
Some Chinese businesses also hang Chinese cash coins as store signs for good luck and they can even be seen featuring on the logos of the Bank of China and the China Construction Bank.
The cash coin is also used in Feng shui, where they represent an abundance of resources, personal wealth, money, and prosperity.
It’s always fascinating to learn about world coins and the stories behind their origins.
Will you be celebrating Chinese New Year today? Keep your eyes out for any Chinese cash coins and see if your luck could be in this year!
Own the Lucky Chinese Cash Coin
Celebrate the Chinese New Year with a coin that many believe will bring good luck and prosperity for the year ahead.
Each coin comes housed in a wallet with informative Certificate of Authenticity detailing the history of the coin.
Click here to secure the Chinese Lucky Cash Coin for your collection today >>