Latest news and updates on British numismatic - Coins, banknotes, tokens
April 28, 2025
From the archives: Medals as gifts in ancient Rome
Roman medals or, as they are usually called, Roman medallions, are not an easy class to define. We can start by saying that they were not. They were not awards for bravery; soldiers in the Roman army were rewarded with decorative discs (phalerae) which could be fixed to their uniform. Nor, indeed, were Roman medals in the modern sense – they were not privately produced metal objects intended to be sold as souvenirs of events like royal coronations or great exhibitions.
April 23, 2025
Sovereign 1888 to 1968 - Price Guide and values
The immediate origins of both the image and legend of St George the Dragon Slayer on the Sovereign lie in Near Eastern survivals of Graeco-Roman culture where the hero/victor image of a mounted lancer was widely used on coins and reliefs and was also employed as an imperial sign of power. By the thirteenth century St George the Dragon Slayer had gained the red cross of a crusader as part of his iconography and represented the victory of good over evil.
April 22, 2025
Several Elizabeth II obverses images for grading added
The grade is used to determine the a more exact value of a British coin. It represents the quality and wear of a coin. Using pictures, effigies and descriptions, this section helps you to determine the grade of a coin with the Sheldon scale, the universal gradation tool. To determine a coin's high grade (MS), you look at strike, luster, location, size, and quantity of bag marks, and other less tangible features.
April 15, 2025
2 Pounds 2011 Mary Rose
A detailed image of the legendary ship has been struck with detail into a limited edition 2011 £2 coin marking the 500th anniversary of the 1511 launch. The edge inscription reads: YOUR NOBLEST SHIPPE 1511, taken from a letter written by Sir Edward Howard, Lord Admiral onboard the Mary Rose, to the King, 22 March 1513.
April 14, 2025
Crown 1662 to 1684 - Price Guide and values
Both gold and silver crowns were struck concurrently until early in the reign of Charles II, when minting of the gold crown ceased. Silver crowns adhered to the long-standing Sterling Silver standard of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper, established in the 12th century by Henry II. The crown was first issued during the reign of Edward VI, as part of the coinage of the Kingdom of England.
April 7, 2025
Sovereign 1817 to 1887 - Price Guide and values
The first Sovereign was authorised by Henry VII in 1489, but was different in size and weight. Almost half the weight and diameter of the original Sovereign, the new gold coin of 1817 more than matched its predecessor in the beauty of its design. The traditional heraldic reverse was abandoned in favour of a St George and the dragon of classic beauty by the Italian engraver Benedetto Pistrucci. The design combined of the new Sovereign set it apart from every gold coin that had gone before and it may be difficult to understand why, in 1825, it was dropped in preference of a more conventional royal arms. It was revived in 1871.
April 4, 2025
2 Pounds 2016 World War I and Army
In continuation of the five years program of commemoration, the Royal Mint produced a £2 coin with the team at creative agency Uniform to remember the camaraderie of those men and the unity and pride of the communities they volunteered to defend.
April 2, 2025
5 Guineas 1716 to 1753 - Price Guide and values
The 5 Guinea was the largest regularly produced gold coin in Britain. George I's 5 Guinea coins were only struck in 1716, 1717, 1720, and 1726, and they bear his abbreviated Hanoverian titles in addition to the usual British, French, and Irish title. George II's 5 Guinea pieces mark the last of the denomination. Some of the 1729 coins bear the initials EIC under the king's head, indicating the gold was supplied by the East India Company, while the 1746 coins have LIMA under the head, indicating the gold was obtained during Admiral Anson's circumnavigation of the world.
March 31, 2025
Penny 1971 to 2025 - Price Guide and values
Before the Royal Arms, the reverse design on the penny was a crowned portcullis, heavy castle gate made of metal strips that form a grid often found in medieval fortifications, surrounded by chains was chosen. The first copper-plated steel 1p coins were struck in 1992. The reason for this change was the increase in the price of metals on the world markets. The coins have a mild steel core and are electroplated with copper - consequently, they are magnetic. In October 2023 the King Charles III one penny coin was presented; the coin design features a hazel dormouse.
March 29, 2025
From the archives: Genuine forgeries
Forgery is a spurious thing, not genuine, not being what it pretends to be, and not coming from the pretended source. One of the classic tales in numismatics is how a former Director of the British Museum, Sir George Hill, saw an attractive Greek lady and his eyes were riveted on a splendid large Athenian decadrachm of the finest style of the mid-fifth century BC which she was wearing set in a piece of jewellery. Appropriate negotiations in 1920 secured it for the British Museum but, sadly, the piece subsequently turned out to be an imitation by the notorious Athenian forger Constantine Christodoulos.
March 27, 2025
Half-Sovereign 1817 to 1953 - Price Guide and values
The half sovereign British gold coin was first issued in 1817 (proclaimed legal tender on October 10th) and became the smallest gold coin in regular use. Once war began in 1914, paper currency of ten shillings were quickly issued to take the place of the half sovereign. In 1915, the last circulating ones were minted. Although it no longer circulated, the sovereign had been issued as a bullion coin beginning in 1957, and with special-quality proof coins issued from 1979.
March 22, 2025
Half Penny 1971 to 1984 - Price Guide and values
The British decimal halfpenny coin was introduced in February 1971, but ignored in banking transactions. It became Britain's least favourite coin. The coin was demonetised and withdrawn from circulation in December 1984, even if The Treasury argued that this denomination was important against inflation, as it prevented prices from being rounded up. The design on the reverse of the coin is a representation of St Edward's Crown.
March 20, 2025
Crown 1818 to 1965 - Price Guide and values
The British silver crown was always a large coin, and from the 19th century it did not circulate well. However, crowns were usually struck in a new monarch's coronation year, from George IV through Elizabeth II in 1953, with the exceptions of George V and Edward VIII. The 1953 crown was issued to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, while the 1960 issue (which carried the same reverse design as the previous crown in 1953) commemorated the British Exhibition in New York. The 1965 issue carried the image of Winston Churchill on the reverse.
March 17, 2025
Farthing 1717 to 1807 - Price Guide and values
From 1717 to 1807, the farthing featured the figure of Britannia on reverse. A British copper farthing succeeded the English farthing after England and Scotland were united into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. Some British copper farthings were struck in the reigns of George I and George II. By the accession of George III, in 1760, many counterfeits were in circulation, and the Royal Mint stopped minting copper coins in 1775. The next farthings were the first struck by steam power, in 1799 by Matthew Boulton at his Soho Mint, under licence. Boulton coined more in 1806
March 14, 2025
2018-2019 British 10 Pence Coin Hunt A to Z
The Royal Mint’s A to Z 10 Pence coins hunt celebrated British subjects, from Great British landmarks such as Stonehenge, to a Double Decker Bus, the Quintessential A to Z saluted what it means to be British. The Royal Mint invited the population to collect them all. The reverse design for each year is the same for every letter. Mintage for the circulation coins is 220,000 each, in 2018, 84,000 each except for the letters R (64,000), W (63,000), Y (63,000) and Z (63,000)
March 10, 2025
Half Crown 1902 to 1970 - Price Guide and values
On the 1 March 1966, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, James Callaghan announced that the old £sd system would be replaced by a decimal currency in which the pound was to be divided into one hundred units. The half crown was demonetised on 1 January 1970, the year before the United Kingdom adopted decimal currency on Decimal Day. In the 20th century a slang term for the coin was half-a-dollar.
March 5, 2025
Golden Jubilee 2002 £5 Coin
The Royal Mint released in 2002 a new £5 Jubilee crown, commemorating the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen. The obverse of the coin features an elegant equestrian portrait of the Queen, in keeping with the design of crowns struck previously to celebrate the Queen's Coronation in 1953 and her Silver Jubilee in 1977. The accompanying inscription, Amor Populi Praesidium Reg, conveys the happy notion that the love of the people is the Queen's protection.
March 2, 2025
2 Pounds 1986 to 2023 - Price Guide and values
After a review of the United Kingdom coinage in 1994, it emerged that there was a requirement for a £2 coin to enter general circulation. A consultation process took place with the vending machine industry, members of the public and special interest groups, such as the RNIB and Age Concern. The consensus of opinion from the consultation favoured a bicolour coin, because it would be easily distinguishable from the other coins in circulation.
February 27, 2025
Florin 1902 to 1970 - Price Guide and values
The florin was issued continuously in Britain from 1851 until 1967 when the introduction of decimal currency saw it replaced by a 10 new pence coin. Both sides of the florin were redesigned several times between 1901 and 1967 and four different sovereigns appeared on them: Edward VII (1901-1910), George V (1910-1936), Edward VIII (1936), George VI (1936-1952) and Elizabeth II (1953-1967). No coins depicting Edward VIII were officially released to circulation. A pattern florin exists.
February 23, 2025
Shilling 1902 to 1970 - Price Guide and values
The Royal Mint debased the silver coinage in 1920 from 92.5% silver to 50% silver. This debasement was done because of the rising price of silver around the world, and followed the global trend of the elimination, or the reducing in purity, of the silver in coinage. The minting of silver coinage of the pound sterling ceased completely (except for the ceremonial Maundy Money) at the end of 1946 for similar reasons. New coinage was instead minted in cupronickel, an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel.
February 20, 2025
Half Crown 1816 to 1901 - Price Guide and values
From 1816, in the reign of George III, half crown British sterling silver coins had a diameter of 32.31 mm and a weight of 14.14 g, dimensions which remained the same for the half crown until decimalisation in 1971. Several (4) sovereigns were active during this period and the portraits changed at multiple occasions. The reverses always shows English lions passant (first and fourth quarters), a Scottish lion rampant (second quarter) and an Ireland harp (third quarter).
February 19, 2025
6 Pence 1902 to 1970 - Price Guide and values
The last circulating 6 Pence were made from silver from its introduction in 1551 until 1947, and thereafter in cupronickel. The Royal Mint debased the silver coinage in 1920 from 92.5% silver to 50% silver. The minting of silver coinage of the pound sterling ceased completely in 1946 because of the rising price of silver around the world.
February 17, 2025
Florin 1848 to 1901 - Price Guide and values
The original pre-decimal florins were controversial for omitting the reference to God from Queen Victoria's titles and are known as the Godless. In 1851, the obverse changed and the Gothic florin was made, named for its design and style of lettering. The florin bore some variation of either the shields of the United Kingdom, or the emblems of its constituent nations on the reverse, a tradition broken between 1902 and 1910, when the coin featured a windswept figure of a standing Britannia.
February 15, 2025
Shilling 1816 to 1901 - Price Guide and values
The Royal Mint undertook a massive recoinage programme in 1816, with large quantities of gold and silver coin being minted. Previous issues of silver coinage had been irregular, and the last issue, minted in 1787, was not intended for issue to the public. New silver coinage was to be of .925.
February 13, 2025
100th Anniversary of the First World War and Outbreak
The year 2014 marked the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. In 1914, Lord Kitchener was appointed to mastermind a recruitment campaign that would go on to create one of the largest volunteer armies ever known in Britain. It was commemorated by the Royal Mint with the first coin of a five-year series.
