The record price paid for a British coin has just been broken with the sale of a rare Gold £5 in Texas. The £5 coin was never officially issued, being one of just 3 prototypes known to exist. It carried the year “1937”, which is the key to this coin’s attraction and record price. Edward […]
Author: Alex Hanrahan
Spot the difference and learn the secret…
One of a coin expert’s most important traits is the ability to notice small details that can make a big difference to a coin’s collectability and value. You get the chance to test your skills today by looking at the same coin issued in consecutive years, but other than the year changing, what makes one […]
Dissecting a Design: Everything you need to know about the UK’s FIRST EVER Domed £5 Coin
The Royal Mint has just announced a ground-breaking new coin; The UK’s first ever domed £5 coin. First-of-a-kind coins are always ultra-collectable and UK firsts are so scarce that they create a real stir. Find out all about the design and the inspiration behind it by clicking on the points below. If you’re interested… You […]
Dissecting a Design: The most important £5 coin issued this year
The most important £5 coin issued this year. It’s a bold statement. But one I believe to be true of this Silver Proof coin released to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s 95th birthday. This moment is crucial in our country’s history. As the longest reigning monarch the UK’s ever seen this coin will forever be a […]
The Sovereign you have to pay £20,000 just to bid for
A Sovereign will be going under the hammer tomorrow that requires the bidder to pay £20,000 just to have the chance of owning it. It’s over 500 years old, is one of the earliest gold Sovereigns a collector could ever hope to own and it’s one of just three in the world that are not […]
Murder, battles and building an empire – The coins of Alexander the Great
“When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer.” Undefeated in battle, Alexander the Great is one of history’s most successful military leaders. Succeeding his father as king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon at the tender age of 20, by the time he had […]
Shipwreck Sovereigns – The coins that spent a century at the bottom of the sea
The Sovereign is one of the most storied coins in the world, including coins that shouldn’t exist, some that offended Kings and Queens and even one that contained a poisonous substance… But have you heard about the one that spent over 100 years on the seabed? The Shipwreck Sovereign In Victorian times, the Sovereign was […]
“Save our Sixpence”
With the 50th anniversary of Decimal Day fast approaching, it has brought a lot of the pre-decimal coins back into the spotlight. When Britain went decimal on 15 February 1971, coins like the florin, shilling and half-crown became obsolete, but one coin endured into the next decade… The Sixpence. Worth 2.5p, it remained in circulation […]
First Silver US Dollar sells for over $1m – and that looks a bargain
The famous 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar is widely acknowledged as being the first ever silver dollar coin. An example has just sold at auction for over $1m – one million times the coin’s face value. How does a coin with a scrap value of just $12 for its silver content become for millionaires only? […]
Rare gold coin dropped in Christmas charity box
The Salvation Army announced that they received a very generous present just before Christmas – somebody dropped a rare gold coin in one of their counter charity boxes a week before Christmas. The generous donation came in the form of the world’s most famous gold coin – the Krugerrand. The coin, struck from 1oz of […]