Designs of Christopher Ironside (1913–1992)

Best known designing Britain coinage after decimalisation in the late 70s Christopher Ironside created numerous coin designs that were both practical and beautiful to look at. A common theme in many of his designs is the usage of animals and plant life which may be a reflection on his background as a painter. Over the course of his lifetime he produced design for no less than 14 different territories and countries with the majority being former British colonies.

Australia 

1 Dollar 1977

Brunei 

1 Sen 1967	5 Sen 1967
10 Sen 1967	20 Sen 1967
50 Sen 1967

Timeline of British Pre-decimal Coins

Using the minting dates for each pre-decimal coin I was able to create this timeline which shows how long each coin was in production. This chart doesn't include English coins that were solely minted prior to the 1707 unification of Britain.

Royal Mint 2017 Year of Rooster Coin Collection

In anticipation for 2017 the Royal Mint has announced the latest incarnation of its popular Shēngxiào (Lunar Year) Collection. For a fourth year running talented artist Wuon-Gean Ho provides the design. Despite being a third of the way through the zodiac calendar I have noticed a gradual reduction in mintage figures, specifically the Five Ounce Silver which had a 2014 mintage of 1,488 compared with just 388 for 2017.

Yet again the mint has made changes to its selection of coins, deciding to remove the One Kilo Gold and the Philatelic cover which will bug some collectors.

	Denomination	Metal	Weight	Diameter	Mintage
One Ounce Silver Proof	£2	.999 Silver	31.21g	38.61mm	3,888
Five Ounce Silver Proof	£10	.999 Silver	156.295g	65.00mm	388
One Kilo Silver Proof	£500	.999 Silver	1005g	100mm	68
1/10 Ounce Gold Brilliant Uncirculated	£10	.999 Gold	3.13g	16.5mm	2088
One Ounce Gold Proof	£100	.999 Gold	31.21g	32.21mm	688
Five Ounce Gold Proof	£500	.999 Gold	156.295g	50mm	38

5 Ways to Store Your Coins

There are numerous way that you can store your coins and many people have developed their own storage methods. While some collectors are happy to lump all their coins into a jar or plastic bag, more serious collectors take a much milder approach, separating and labeling each coin. Unless you are planning to open a numismatic museum in your front room deciding how you are going to keep your collection is an important consideration.

In this article I have reviewed some of the most common methods noting their advantages and disadvantages. With regards to the prices I have selected the lowest possible amounts, buying in larger quantities will of course reduce prices even further.

Coin Capsules

Sizes:         14mm to 62mm
Prices:       Pack of 10 from CoinGallery - £2.20 (9p per capsule)
                   Pack of 10 from Duncanon     - £4.05 (40p per capsule)
                   Pack of 10 from Ebay             - £3.00 (30p per capsule)

+ Extremely Cheap

+ Durable

− Difficult to Label and Organise

− Possible Room for Movement

Counterfeit £1 Coin Statistics

The counterfeiting of 1 pound coins is a growing problem and each year thousands are removed from circulation and tests are conducted to estimate how many are in circulation. Below I have created two charts from the data available from the Royal Mint and other sources on the web.

Sources

• https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220827/foi_poundcoins_narrative.pdf
• http://www.royalmint.com/aboutus/annual-report
• http://www.coinauthentication.co.uk/newsletter13.html

Royal Mint 2016 Year of Monkey Coin Collection

In anticipation for Chinese new year the Royal Mint has released the third coin in its Lunar Year coin series. This is the first in the series to use the new fifth portrait by Jody Clark of Queen Elizabeth II.

Bad news if you were trying to collect all 12 lunar years as both the PNC Coin and the One Ounce Gold Plated Silver Coin have been discontinued. In their place are two new coins A Tenth-Ounce Gold BU and a One Kilo Silver Proof.

	Denomination	Metal	Weight	Diameter	Mintage
One Ounce Silver Proof	£2	.999 Silver	31.21g	38.61mm	8,054
One Ounce Silver PNC Proof	£2	.999 Silver	31.21g	38.61mm	2,016
Five Ounce Silver Proof	£10	.999 Silver	156.295g	65.00mm	588
One Kilo Silver Proof	£500	.999 Silver	1005g	100mm	88
Tenth Ounce Gold BU	£10	.999 Gold	3.13g	16.5mm	1,888
One Ounce Gold Proof	£100	.999 Gold	31.21g	32.6mm	888*
Five Ounce Gold Proof	£500	.999 Gold	56.29g	65mm	38
One Kilo Gold Proof	£1000	.999 Gold	1005g	100mm	8

Kew Garden 50p Coin

Probably the most sought after coin in circulation, the Kew Garden 50p was released in 2009 with a reported mintage figure of 210,000. However this is misleading because an even larger amount was sold as collector's items which puts the coin's reported mintage figure much higher. By adding up the production figures of all the sets that included the Kew Garden 50p we get a more accurate mintage figure of the Kew Garden coin.