Latest 50p in the Innovation in Science series celebrates century of ground-breaking Insulin discovery

The UK’s Innovation in Science 50p Series continues as the BRAND NEW 2021 UK Discovery of Insulin 50p has just been released – commemorating 100 years since this groundbreaking finding!

Saving millions of lives around the world and triggering a century of diabetes research, the discovery of Insulin in 1921 by Sir Frederick G Banting, Charles H Best and JJR Macleod was one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in history.

2021 UK Discovery of Insulin 50p

In this special anniversary year, this life-changing hormone features on the UK’s most collected coin for the very first time.

The design, by Iris De La Torre, features an artistic interpretation of the structure of Insulin along with its molecular formula.

Today, you can own the brand new 2021 UK Discovery of Insulin 50p in superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality for JUST £4.50 (+p&p).

What’s more, your coin has been protectively encapsulated in Official Change Checker packaging with that all-important hologram to guarantee its superior quality.

Secure your 2021 UK Discovery of Insulin CERTIFIED BU 50p today by clicking here >>

Whilst this is the first UK coin to celebrate the discovery of Insulin, The Royal Canadian Mint issued a special collector’s set earlier this year to celebrate this historic anniversary…

2021 Canada Discovery of Insulin Collector Card

Whilst 2021 marks 100 years since Sir Frederick G Banting, Charles H Best and JJR Macleod first discovered Insulin at the University of Toronto, it was later purified by James B Collip.

To celebrate this historic anniversary and one of Canada’s most significant contributions to modern medicine, The Royal Canadian Mint have issued a special collector’s set.

Included within this set you’ll find two versions of the 2021 Discovery of Insulin $2, with a design portraying the story from laboratory to the isolation of insulin.

As well as the two Discovery of Insulin $2 coins, the set also includes five other denominations issued in 2021, perfectly displayed within the colourful collector card explaining the importance of this Canadian medical breakthrough that changed the world.

Just 100,000 sets have been issued for collectors worldwide and we’ve managed to secure an initial allocation of just 250 for UK collectors!

With such a significant anniversary and the inclusion of the selectively coloured $2 coin, high demand for this set is expected – so make sure you don’t miss out! You can secure your 2021 Canada Discovery of Insulin Collector Card today for JUST £22.50 (+p&p) here >>

This exciting new 50p is the very latest addition to The Royal Mint’s Innovation in Science series which has proven incredibly popular with collectors…

2021 UK Charles Babbage 50p


Charles Babbage was an English mathematician and inventor who originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.

In 2021, in the year marking the 150th year of his passing, The Royal Mint commemorated him on a UK 50p – an addition in their Innovation in Science series.

This 50p, designed by Nigel Tudman and Jas Bhamra, features a clever design which links Babbage’s extraordinary machinery to the digital age.

You can secure this coin for your collection for JUST £4.50 (+p&p) here >>

2021 John Logie Baird 50p

It’s hard to imagine life without television but back in the early 1920s, it was a complete unknown.

That was until John Logie Baird successfully produced televised objects in outline in 1924transmitted recognisable human faces in 1925, and demonstrated the televising of moving objects in 1926.

Issued in 20201, to celebrate the life and works of the ‘Father of Television’the design of this 50p coin features key milestones from Baird’s life, presented between the lines of transmission radiating from the centre of the coin.

2020 Rosalind Franklin 50p

In the year that would have marked her 100th birthday, The Royal Mint released a 50p celebrating the life and crucial work of Rosalind Franklin, the first female scientist to be commemorated on a UK coin.

David Knapton’s striking design of this coin, features a depiction of Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray, ‘Photograph 51’, which revealed the helical structure of DNA, in her laboratory at King’s College, London.

One of Britain’s greatest scientists, Franklin made a crucial finding to the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA.

2019 Stephen Hawking 50p

In 2019, less than a year since his death, The Royal Mint released a Stephen Hawking 50p coin, honouring his works as one of the most influential physicists of the modern age.

He became the very first person to be celebrated in The Royal Mint’s Innovators in Science series and only the third person to be commemorated on a coin within a year of their death (the others being Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother!)

The reverse of the coin, designed by Edwina Ellis, features a stylised black hole and the inscription ‘Stephen Hawking’ . It also shows the Bekenstein-Hawking formula, which describes the thermodynamic entropy of a black hole!


The Innovation in Science series has proven incredibly popular with collectors and we’re sure this brand new 2021 UK Discovery of Insulin 50p will be in high demand…


Secure the 2021 UK Discovery of Insulin 50p for your collection for JUST £4.50 (+p&p)

Secure the brand new 2021 UK Discovery of Insulin 50p in superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality for JUST £4.50 (+p&p) by clicking here >>

What’s more, your coin has been protectively encapsulated in Official Change Checker packaging with that all-important hologram to guarantee its superior quality.

Secure your 2021 UK Discovery of Insulin CERTIFIED BU 50p today by clicking here >>

75th Anniversary of VE Day marked by FIVE world-renowned Mints

2020 marked the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, and the official end of the Second World War.

Following the Allies’ acceptance of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender on the 8th May 1945, the war in Europe had finally come to a close after a long five years of conflict.

Most UK collectors will be familiar with the United Kingdom 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day £2 coin issued earlier this year to commemorate the historic event.

However, Allied Nations across the globe have been commemorating 75 years since the end of the Second World War and this important anniversary has been marked with unique coin issues from some of the world’s most renowned Mints.

Coins issued by the Netherlands, Canada, France, and Belgium, in addition to the UK £2, have been brought together for the first time in the remarkable 75th Anniversary of VE Day Allied Nations Coin Pack. 

75th Anniversary of VE Day Allied Nations Coin Pack

Featuring FIVE carefully chosen commemorative coins from world renowned Mints and including The Royal Mint’s 75th Anniversary of VE Day £2 coin as the centrepiece, this limited edition Commemorative Coin Pack has been released JUST for Change Checkers.

The coins included with this extraordinary set are:

United Kingdom £2

2020 UK Victory in Europe £2

This brand new United Kingdom £2 coin by Royal Mint designer Dominique Evans 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’.

Canada $2

2020 Canada Victory $2

As a tribute to the fallen and a promise to never forget, Canada have issued a commemorative $2 coin marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. This coin re-creates the iconic Victory Nickel design on a brand new $2 coin.

Belgium 2.5 Euro

2020 Belgium 2.5 Euro

The Royal Mint of Belgium issued this 2.5 Euro coin designed by Luc Luycx to show Europe lit with fireworks in honor of this 75th anniversary. The reverse shows the newly liberated Brussels on 4th September 1944.

This coin is limited to a maximum circulation of 50,000 pieces worldwide.

Netherlands 5 Euro

Although part of the Netherlands had already been liberated in 1944, it wasn’t until the 5th May 1945 that the whole of the Netherlands was allowed to live in freedom. This 5 Euro is the official commemorative coin to mark such an important moment in history and has been designed by artist Marijke van Warmerdam.

Only 15,000 Silver-Plated pieces are available worldwide!

France 2 Euro

Renowned French army officer and statesman, Charles de Gaulle led the Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II. This 2 Euro coin features two profiles of de Gaulle as both the revered army general during the war, and as President of France during his second term. A Lorraine cross also features on the design as the symbol of free France, chosen by General de Gaulle.


All of these incredible coins come presented in the Change Checker 75th Anniversary of VE Day Coin Pack. Which one is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below!


Secure the Limited Edition 75th Anniversary of VE Day Coin Pack to your Collection Today!

Secure the 75th Anniversary of VE Day Coin Pack here for £45 (+p&p) >>

Due to the difficulty of sourcing these coins, we have only a limited number of these extraordinary packs available!

To ensure you don’t miss out on this special anniversary year, please secure your Change Checker 75th Anniversary of VE Day Allied Nations Coin Pack here >>

11 of the world’s most oddly shaped coins…

One of the most fascinating things about coin collecting is of course the design on the coin – but what about the shape of the coin itself? As minting technology continues to advance, coins are being struck in all kinds of exciting and innovative shapes.

So I’ve put together selection of 11 unusually shaped collectable coins from around the world…

1. The WWI Brodie Helmet coin

Canada 2018 Silver Helmet Coin Product Image Top - This remarkable new Armistice Centenary issue is so unique its production techniques have been kept a closely guarded secret…

To commemorate the Armistice Centenary, The Royal Canadian Mint issued a remarkable new coin to honour each and every fallen soldier.

Struck in the shape of a WWI Brodie Helmet, it is more deeply curved surface than any other concave or convex-shaped coin I’ve seen before. The design is so unique in fact, that the Mint have kept the minting technique a closely guarded secret.

2. The FIRST rugby coin of its kind…

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To mark the Rugby World Cup in 2015, France issued the first ever coin shaped like a rugby ball.

The concave coins proved to be extremely popular with collectors worldwide, with many keen to add a coin with such a unique pedigree to their collections.

3. A coin shaped like a country… 

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The Perth Mint regularly issue map-shaped coins, taking advantage of their country’s unique and recognisable outline.

This series makes use of purpose-built tooling and die design to give the coin its distinctive shape.

The first coin in the series featured the Kookaburra and was issued in 2012. Since then there have been a variety of different animals to feature on the coin, with the most recent being the Dingo.

4. The ‘Imperial Egg’…

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This impressive looking coin boasts beautiful enamelled colour and a shimmering gemstone inlay.

The ‘Imperial Egg’ Coin is based on the work of Fabergé and proved to be very popular with collectors, especially during the Easter period.

5. You’ll be lucky to find one of these…

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You certainly won’t find this Four-Leaf Clover Coin in a field, no matter how hard you look! Legend has it that Eve took a four-leaf-clover from paradise as a memento for the wonderful time she had spent there – they’ve been considered lucky ever since.

Struck in gold to a proof finish, this cleverly produced coin could certainly be regarded as lucky by collectors who have one in their collection – as it is now highly sought-after.

6. The Earth-shattering coin… 

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The extra-terrestrial chondrite that has been set into the centre of this coin was sourced from a meteorite that crash-landed in Morocco in 2005. The space rock shattered into several pieces when it entered the Earth’s atmosphere.

The coin itself has been struck in a concave shape to represent the crater in which the piece of meteorite landed.

7. Is it a coin or is it a bar? It’s both…

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This rectangular silver coin-bar features one of the world’s most iconic landmarks – London’s Tower Bridge.

It’s not often that you see coins minted in this shape as the ‘bar’ format is usually reserved for bullion.

This stunning coin boasts an intricately detailed engraving and tiny details can be seen on the Tower Bridge to create windows, clock and brickwork.

8. The poppy-shaped remembrance coin…

poppy1 - Discover the world’s 10 most oddly shaped coins...

This coin’s unique shape and rich red printing on the reverse takes inspiration from the poppy, which has become synonymous throughout the world as a symbol of remembrance and the charitable work of The Royal British Legion.

Issued to commemorate the end of the First World War and to Remember the Fallen, the Poppy Coin is a significant issue that is poignant to many.

9. The coin that sold out in two days…

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This remarkable coin is shaped like the iconic Canadian maple leaf, and proved so popular that it sold out at the Royal Canadian Mint in just 2 days.

Canadian Maple Leaf coins are some of the world’s most recognised Silver coins. This issue takes the design to a whole new level and comes complete with a special wooden display case.

10. The coin that combines heaven and earth…

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Issued in China since 221 BCE, the Chinese Lucky 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 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.

11. And last but not least…

russian dolls - Discover the world’s 10 most oddly shaped coins...

The playful Russian ‘Matryoshka Dolls’ first appeared in the late 19th century, now they’ve been immortalised on a silver coin.

This oval issue is displayed within special bespoke packagingwhich consists of two traditional wooden nesting dolls placed one inside the other – the coin and packaging are both something that I’ve never come across before!

Are you lucky enough to have any of these coins in your collection, or perhaps you’ve seen another coin that you think should be on the list? Let me know in the comments below


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

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Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app