Updates on other numismatic news.
The 1920 Sydney Sovereign is the rarest gold Sovereign of them all and Australia’s most valuable coin, living up to its billing of the “Greatest Gold Rarity of the British Empire”. But why does a Sovereign with the same technical specifications as any other Sovereign command a fee in the hundreds of thousands? 1870 Queen […]
In 2014, the US Mint launched their first ever curved gold coin. Its design, curved to mimic a baseball, won the prestigious Coin of the Year award at the World Fair of Money in Berlin. Most importantly, 50,000 pieces sold out in 24 hours and collectors were literally fighting to get one after queueing for […]
The “modern” Sovereign was introduced in 1817, but there was a very real threat to its existence just 2 years later. Prominent economist David Ricardo proposed the total abandonment of gold coins in favour of banknotes in 1819 – a move that could have completely buried the Sovereign. Portrait of David Ricardo – 1817 George […]
This year, the 50p is celebrating its 50th birthday. To mark the occasion The Royal Mint has taken the unusual step of reissuing the most loved 50p designs from the last 50 years, bringing 5 coins together in one exclusive and limited edition set. They start with the original 1969 Britannia design and incorporate the […]
The Royal Mint has just announced the UK’s new commemorative coins for 2019. Marking the year’s memorable events and anniversaries, here are the new themes and designs unveiled today: The 2019 DateStamp™ UK Specimen Year Set These coins deserve to be appreciated in Brilliant Uncirculated collector quality, which is why I recommend The 2019 DateStamp™ UK Specimen Year […]
Christmas Day, 1914 was a curious day. Instead of the usual dawn chorus of rifle fire across no man’s land, British troops in the trenches awoke to an eerie calm. As the sun rose, German soldiers called for their British counterparts to meet them in no man’s land. Fearing a slaughter, the British were understandably […]
The East India Company, formed over 400 years ago, transformed the world and helped to grow the British Empire into the biggest empire the world has seen. Now The East India Company has issued The Coins of the Empire Collection, a brand new, limited edition set of nine 24-carat gold coins which tell the story […]
With the year quickly drawing to a close, now is the time to make sure you don’t miss out on 2018’s most collectable coins. I have picked out just 3 coins that should be in your collection and I will reveal them over the next few weeks, detailing what makes each coin so exceptional. The […]
Every coin tells a story. Some have designs loaded with symbolism, such as a sword signalling a country’s strength, wreaths made up of the region or country’s main agricultural crops of the time or an olive branch acting as a symbol of peace. But only once has a monarch’s grief been represented on UK coins. […]
HM Treasury has just announced a special 50p coin to mark Britain’s exit from the EU, during the last Budget before Brexit. Credit: @hmtreasury on Twitter. It will be released on 29 March next year – the day we officially leave the European Union. In 1973 the Treasury issued a commemorative 50p to mark joining […]