Last Coins of the Queen feature Special Privy Mark

2022 is likely a year no collector will forget.

We celebrated a Platinum Jubilee, mourned the loss of our Queen and welcomed a new monarch to the throne.

And, as ever, these extraordinary moments are retold through our UK coins.

To commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s incredible life and reign, an official UK Memorial coin set was released. The set featured the eight definitive coins from 2022, alongside the Memorial 50p and £5 with the King’s portrait.

2022 UK Queen Elizabeth II MEmorial Definitive Coin Set - with special privy mark.
Featuring the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, and 50p royal shield designs
the commemorative.
Privy Mark on Last Queen Coins
2022 UK Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Definitive Coin Set – with special privy mark.

Last UK Coins of Queen Elizabeth II

Importantly, the definitive coins in this set were the last in the UK to feature Her Majesty’s portrait.

What’s more, each definitive obverse design also featured a special privy mark to show the Queen’s year of birth and year of passing – a never-before-seen feature for these coins, which added to their collectability.

Never seen before special memorial privy mark
Never seen before special memorial privy mark

Since Her Majesty’s passing, we saw incredible demand for QE II coins. Both historic and new issues. Recent releases continuously sold out at The Royal Mint and older issues became increasingly scarce as the nation rushed to secure keepsakes and lasting tributes for the Queen.

And this set was no exception, with both the Brilliant Uncirculated and limited precious metal versions completely selling out in just 1 day!


Pay tribute to Her Late Majesty with the UK QEII Memorial £5

You can own the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Memorial £5 in Brilliant Uncirculated quality here >>

Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters with the 2022 UK Hogwarts Express 50p

The journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters has begun, with the 2022 UK Hogwarts Express 50p.

This UK first celebrates the world-famous scarlet steam engine, the Hogwarts Express.

Continue reading to discover why it’s not just Harry Potter fans that are rushing to get their hands on this coin…

First introduced 25 years ago, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the Hogwarts Express is estimated to have transported students to the famous wizarding school, no less than SIX times a year.

And so iconic is this train, that Jim Kay dedicated the entire cover and two full pages of his fully illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to it.

2015 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone book cover and two-page illustrations by Jim Kay. Showing the Hogwarts Express on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
This image has been used on the design of the 2022 UK Hogwarts Express 50p.
2015 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone book cover and two-page illustrations by Jim Kay. Showing the Hogwarts Express on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Excitingly, design on the Hogwarts Express Coin is a mirror image of Jim Kay’s 2015 illustrated book.

The 2022 UK Hogwarts Express 50p.
Held in white gloved hand, showing the Hogwarts Express from Jim Kay's 2015 illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone book.
The 2022 UK Hogwarts Express 50p

Get your hands on this 50p here >>

Last individual QEII UK commemorative 50p 

This 50p was confirmed to be the last individual UK commemorative 50p to feature Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait on the obverse. But the whole Harry Potter 50p series has a very interesting story…The series includes both Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III’s portraits on them.

The Harry Potter and Hogwarts Express 50p coins feature the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse.

The obverse design of the Hogwarts 2022 UK Express 50p. Featuring the last portrait of QEII by Jody Clark.
The obverse design of the 2022 UK Hogwarts Express 50p. Featuring the last portrait of QEII by Jody Clark.

However, the coins issued in 2023 featuring Professor Dumbledore and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry 50ps features King Charles III’s portrait on the obverse.

Special lenticular feature

Unique to the Harry Potter 50p series, a lightning bolt lenticular feature appears on the reverse design of the 2022 UK Hogwarts Express 50p coin.

When tilted, the lightning bolt transforms into the number 25, in celebration of the first book’s anniversary.

This feature caught the attention of collectors since it first appeared on the first coin in the series, featuring Harry Potter himself.

The 2022 UK Harry Potter 50p coin

Secure your Hogwarts Express 50p

Click here to add this coin to your collection >>

UK 50p issued marking the 100th anniversary of the BBC

The BBC has broadcasted some of the world’s most exciting highs over the past 100 years but has also had the hard task of delivering some of the biggest lows.

And to mark this centenary milestone, The Royal Mint have issued a UK 50p with a design that symbolises the BBC’s global impact.

2022 UK 100th Anniversary of the BBC 50p

2022 100 Years of BBC 50p
2022 100 Years of BBC 50p

This coin has been developed in partnership with the BBC and designed by Henry Gray, resulting in a fantastic tribute to the Broadcasting Corporation.

Struck to a Brilliant Uncirculated quality, this coin is the perfect way to mark 100 years of broadcasting.

If you want to secure your 2022 UK 100th Anniversary of the BBC CERTIFIED BU 50p today for £12.99 (+p&p), click here >>

Radio and television have revolutionised our everyday, providing us with important news and endless entertainment.

In 2021, we saw John Logie Baird, ‘The Father of the Television’, celebrated on a UK 50p coin – and quite rightly so, because where would we be without our TVs?

2021 John Logie Baird 50p. Showing a television mast and concentric circles depicting electronic waves. With the inscription: 'John Logie Baird Television Pioneer - 1888 1946'.
Queen Elizabeth II's portrait features on the obverse.
2021 John Logie Baird 50p.

The design features key milestones from Baird’s life, presented between lines of transmission.

But this isn’t the first coin to showcase a design with waves of transmission. The Royal Mint marked the 100th anniversary of wireless transmission in 2001 with a UK £2, pictured below.

2001 Wireless Transmission £2 coin reverse design.
2001 Wireless Transmission £2.

In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian physicist, succeeded in sending the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean.

The message – simply containing the Morse code signal for the letter ‘s’ – travelled more than 2,000 miles from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland in Canada and won him worldwide fame and a Nobel Prize in physics in 1909.

Have you got either of these interesting coins in your collection? Let us know in the comments!


Secure the 2022 UK 100th Anniversary of the BBC 50p for your collection

If you want to secure your 2022 UK 100th Anniversary of the BBC CERTIFIED BU 50p today click here >>

Secure your 100 Years of the BBC 50p