Posts Tagged ‘Royal Mint’
Revealed: The Queen’s New Portrait for our Coins
Today at the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Mint unveiled the new definitive portrait of Queen Elizabeth II which will appear on our circulating coinage this year. It is only the fifth portrait to appear on our coins in the Queen’s 62-year reign, and as far as collectors are concerned, events don’t come much bigger than this.
The Queen’s new coin portrait was revealed this morning
The portrait, showing a side profile of the Queen wearing a crown and drop earrings, was created by designer Jody Clark and is the winning entry of a closed competition launched by the Royal Mint late last year. Aged 33 when his design was selected, he is the youngest of the five designers to have created a portrait for Queen Elizabeth II.
Clark’s new effigy marks a brand new chapter in the history of our circulating coinage, and as any collector will tell you, first issues hold a significance and a lasting degree of collectability for years into the future.
We will see the new coins in our change over the coming weeks and months as they begin filtering through the cash centres and banks to begin with. You can be sure that many of these will be going straight into collections as Change Checkers seek to grab them in their freshly struck condition.
What do you think of the new portrait?
Create a historic collection using your pocket change
Now you can collect all eight definitive coins featuring the Queen’s new effigy as soon as you spot them in your change.
Click here to order your New Portrait Collecting Pack
How rare is the Royal Navy £2?
The Royal Navy £2 commemorates the Royal Navy’s efforts in World War One and is known as the 3rd rarest £2 coin in circulation.
The coin features a battleship design by military artist David Rowlands and the 5th portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, but just 650,000 2015 Navy £2 coins were struck for circulation, making it very sought-after amongst collectors.
But you may have also heard about the small number of Royal Navy £2 coins which were issued to HMS Belfast and its visitor facilities in 2015 – 100 of them to be precise. The story was widely covered, including being featured by the BBC. Naturally plenty of excitement ensued amongst collectors, many of whom flocked to HMS Belfast in the hope of finding one.
The 100 Royal Navy £2 coins distributed at HMS Belfast all carry the Ian Rank-Broaldey FRBS portrait of the Queen
The distinguishing feature of these 100 coins is that they all carry the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank Broadley FRBS whereas those issued for general circulation later in the year then featured the Queen’s new portrait which was announced 2nd March 2015.
However, the Brilliant Uncirculated Royal Navy £2 packs which were originally made available in 2014 also feature Ian Rank-Broadley’s current effigy of the Queen, and there is nothing fundamentally different between these and the 100 issued to HMS Belfast.
Inevitably, scammers capitalised on these blurred lines and a large number of coins purporting to be from HMS Belfast started to crop up on eBay for extortionate amounts. Whilst we can’t prove or disprove the legitimacy of the listings it is nonsensical to bid on a coin which can in no way be authenticated as one of the 100 rare issues. And as we know, when it comes to collecting, there is one fact which is always inevitable – the rarest coins are always in highest demand.
A Royal Navy £2 claiming to be from HMS Belfast selling on ebay for over £100
So although the dust has settled and the Navy £2 is no longer the talk of the town, it is still a staple coin for any collection (even without the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait) and if you come across one in your change, it might just be worth hanging on to!
Own the 3rd rarest £2 coin in circulation!
If you would like to own this rare Royal Navy £2 Coin, you can order yours today.
The long-awaited return of a British Icon
She made her first appearance on British coins in 1672 and subsequently became a permanent figure in an unbroken cycle lasting more than 300 years. Now, according to coinupdate.com, The Royal Mint have announced at the Berlin Coin Show that this year Britannia will be making a triumphant return to the new £2 coin.
Britannia last appeared on the Fifty Pence coin in 2008
The last time Britannia appeared on British circulating coinage was 2008 – you probably remember last seeing her on the Fifty Pence piece. Her removal outraged thousands, with a well-publicised campaign led by the Daily Mail proving unsuccessful in saving a long-standing and unequivocally British institution.
It was the Romans who first created the personification of Britain as a noble female warrior, but it was Charles II who introduced her to British coinage in 1672. Charles was married to Catherine of Braganza at the time, but interestingly, it was actually her Maid of Honour and object of his desires; Frances Teresa Stuart or ‘La Belle Stuart’, who modelled and was immortalised as the figure of Britannia.
There have been many different depictions of Britannia since the first one in 1672
When Britannia first appeared on the Charles II Farthing, Britain was engaged in a naval battle with Holland, and her figure came to be a defining symol of British national spirit. Her evocative seated pose with a trident and shield embodied British defiance and sovereignty over the seas, at a time when the British Empire, and in particular the British Royal Navy, was at the height of its power.
Britannia will replace the definitive ‘Technology’ £2 design this year
The History of Technology design on the £2 coin which was first introduced in 1997 never really captured the imagination of the public. Now, after an 18-year stint on Britain’s highest denomination coin, it will be making way for the return of a quintessentially British icon.
The news of Britannia’s return was received with much excitement at the 2015 World Money Fair in Berlin, and with the revelation of a fifth Queen’s portrait imminent, this is another major development for Change Checkers to look forward to.
You can now find Britannia and some of the other British circulating 50p designs in the Change Checker shop.
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