Coin News

AT the recent Midland Coin Fair on March 8, we met a number of people who told us they were just starting out in the hobby. Hard on the heels of the London Coin Fair where we saw so many children and young people (see last month’s “Editorial Comment”) getting interested in coins, it was very heartening to see that the future of our hobby looks more and more secure. What was particularly interesting was hearing the reasons why these newcomers to numismatics were getting interested in coins, and they seemed to fall into four distinct groups. The first and largest group of “newbies” were there to buy silver and gold, they were looking to buy to invest; they had previously had their money elsewhere but had been watching the…

As well as the bullion Britannia issue, which this year depicts the now classic Philip Nathan reverse design of the warrior queen, the Royal Mint has announced their Proof Britannia range for 2026 is now also S well as the bullion Britannia issue, which this year depicts the now available. The new reverse image is by American coin designer Emily Damstra, and she takes a fresh approach to a subject that must surely be getting harder and harder to reinvent in an innovative and engaging way. However, she does succeed in portraying Britannia differently. With this interpretation, we see a battle-ready fighter, braced into an ongoing storm, hair flying in the breeze, standing fast in what is clearly a defensive pose. To the right of the image is a lighthouse,…

CAROL HARTMAN (Image shown enlarged.) NEXT MONTH: The mood shifts again as James Tottle makes his Britannia coin design debut. THIS month we publish the 16th instalment of the talk presented by 1 Carol Hartan hen he was i o e of he tspeak at th Societies (BAN) held in Exeter in March 2024. The talk was on the fascinating and varied designs of the Britannia coin, and what, if any, they tell us about the times we live in. David Lawrence actually created his reverse images for the 2018 and 2019 Britannia coins simultaneously. It is a clear indication of his artistic abilities that he can create, back-to-back, two such differing designs. His influences were clearly the "greats"— Wyon, Pistrucci, however, he also took a novel approach to gain…

Society secretaries and fair organisers—if you have an interesting talk or event to report, then we would be more than happy to feature it in our dedicated Getting Together feature. Simply email: jayne@tokenpublishing.com with your information. YORKSHIRE NUMISMATIC SOCIETY THE February meeting was the Society’s Presidential Address from Lindsay Hardcastle on “Eustace Fitz TJohn & the Ornamental Coinage of York”. Lindsay examined the ornamental coinage struck at York during the mid-12th century, situating it within the political instability of King Stephen’s reign (1135–54), a period later termed “The Anarchy”. Coinage in the 12th century functioned not only economically, but politically, expressing legitimacy through names, titles and imagery. At York, minting continued throughout Stephen’s reign but developed highly distinctive designs and decorative features, now known as the “Ornamental Coinage” or York…

Search... Here we take a look at some of the numerous numismatic items offered over the auction website eBay. This is just a small selection which have caught our eye. Read on and see if you agree with our reviewer (comments in italics). Unless stated otherwise the descriptions are as the eBay listing written by the seller (including weak spelling and poor grammar). Prices do not include any VAT or other charges which may have been added. Rare British 1960s Royal Mint trial die florin Queen Elizabeth II Albertus Light. A Rare find this Original Royal Mint Trial Die Coin Die dating to I believe around 1961. It is a Queen Elizabeth Florin or 2 Shilling coin. Queens head on one side and raised TRIAL DIE on the other side.…

Volatility vs Venue Continuing with his special monthly reports, ROBERT PARKINSON, author of ECoinomics and Senior Category Manager: Coins, Stamps and Bullion at eBay UK, looks at what's shaping today's numismatic market... WHILST rowsi egionaluctihouse asmonth, I camros rouowgradeBriti silver coins. It was al ctai what was cataluas 1 cicrown"Thisco pearein c tobe1 Fiv G sold for £7.8k hammer (around £10k altogether) on an estimate of £6080. I was the underbidder. This regional auction was clearly a poor venue to offer a Five Guinea piece. The auctioneer had incorrectly attributed it (getting both its authenticity and denomination wrong), failed to photograph or document it adequately, and group-lotted it with nondescript silver coins at a comically low estimate. Even so, the group sold for near its correct level at £10k. In…