The weird and wonderful coins of the Berlin World Money Fair

Every year, thousands of coin collectors and hundreds of dealers and Mints descend upon the Estrel Exhibition Centre in Berlin for the World Money Fair. It’s a pretty intense few days of one meeting after an other, being shown countless coins – some from countries I’ve never even heard of. So what caught my eye […]

The most talked about coin of all time?

One coin has dominated discussion over the last few months, probably more than any other coin I can remember. And those discussions are not just limited to coin collecting circles and online forums. This has been headline news. Now it’s here. Let me explain why I think this is such an important coin now and […]

Why who we are is important to the coins we collect

Coins are a lot of things – pieces of metal, currency, miniature works of art, an embodiment of our history, national identity. And sometimes they are all of those things and more. Sometimes a coin is issued that just means so much more to you. It’s an intangible thing. The Royal Mint has just issued […]

BREXIT COIN ANNOUNCED: Brand new 50p to be released

A brand new BREXIT 50p coin is to be issued to mark Britain’s exit from the European Union. The Royal Proclamation has just been passed confirming the new coin. Although announced by the former chancellor Philip Hammond in last year’s Budget, this is the first official confirmation from The Royal Mint that the coin is […]

The denomination not seen on a UK coin for almost 40 years

In 2019, The Royal Mint reintroduced something a lot of us will be familiar with, but had actually been absent from a UK coin for almost 40 years. Cast your mind back to (or dig out) old 50p or 2p coins and you’ll see two words at the top of the coin’s reverse – “NEW […]

Why Sovereign launch day is marked on every collector’s calendar

Today is one of the most important days in any coin collector’s year – the day the brand new UK Gold Proof Sovereign is released. Quite simply, the Gold Sovereign is without rival as the United Kingdom’s premier Gold Coin. Struck from 22 Carat Gold to the exact same specification since 1817, it epitomises all […]

Have you got your collector’s licence?

Don’t worry, you don’t actually need one today, but it wasn’t that long ago here in the UK that you did. Without one, you would be limited to owning just four gold coins issued after 1817. Unless you had a licence, but that wasn’t the easiest thing to obtain… The year it became illegal to […]

Can you pick the most collectable Sovereigns from this graph?

The Sovereign is without rival as the United Kingdom’s premier Gold Coin, with rich history dating back well over 500 years. It epitomises all that is British. Traded across the world during the 19th Century and early 20th Century, it became known as “The Chief Coin of the World”, whilst today’s modern Proof Sovereigns show […]

The coin 100,000 people queued for

On the morning of 19 February this year, something remarkable happened. I tried to access The Royal Mint website and was informed that I was in a queue with over 100,000 people in front of me and that I wouldn’t be able to access the website for well over an hour. It was all because […]

6 things you need to know about the Gold Maple Leaf

This year, one of the world’s most prestigious gold coins celebrates its 40th birthday, but what do you know about the Gold Maple Leaf and why is it so popular with collectors? Here are 6 things you need to know: 1 – It’s Canada’s most iconic coin, being issued annually since 1979 The Maple Leaf […]