What’s your coin of the year?
We have selected our top ten shortlist of the most popular coin designs of the year – which one is your favourite?
Cast your vote now using the poll at the bottom of the page.
A) The Jersey 2014 70th Anniversary of D-Day £5
Celebrating 70 years since the heroics of D-Day, this £5 coin from Jersey depicted a soldier landing on the beaches during the epic conflict.
B) The Canada 2014 Royal Generations 1oz Silver Coin
For the first time ever, four generations of the Royal Family were engraved on this Canadian $20 coin. Also of note is the fact that the coin shows the direct line of succession for the throne.
C) The Jersey 2014 ‘100 Poppies’ £5 Coin
Issued in support of the Royal British Legion, this coin grabbed the headlines with its 100 engraved poppies, one for each year since the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
E) The Guernsey 2014 First World War Centenary £5 Coin
Issued to commemorate the Centenary of World War I, this emotive coin from Guernsey features lines from Laurence Binyon’s famous poem ‘For the Fallen’ alongside a uniformed soldier.
F) The UK 2014 Commonwealth Games 50p
In July the Commonwealth Games was held in Glasgow – and the nation really got behind ‘the friendly games.’ The Royal Mint issued this 50p featuring a runner and a cyclist alongside text in the ‘arts and crafts’ style.
G) The Cook Islands 2014 Moldavite Meteorite Impact Coin
Surely one of the most innovative coins of the year – this remarkable concave coin features a real piece of Moldavite – a mineral created during a meteorite collision with the Earth millions of years ago.
H) The UK 2014 ‘Year of the Horse’ Silver Coin
In 2014 the Royal Mint decided to copy the other established mints of the world and introduce a ‘lunar’ coin, principally for export to China. An unusual departure for our coinage, it’s nonetheless an energetic and lively depiction of a horse.
I) The Cook Islands 2014 Tyrannosaurus Rex Coin
Containing a hidden secret, this photographic T-Rex coin reveals the skeleton of the dinosaur when a UV light is shone over the surface.
J) The Guernsey 2014 Reflections of a Reign Coronation Coin
Looking back at some of the key moments of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, this Guernsey coin features an engraving of the young Queen, alongside a full colour photograph of her Coronation ceremony.
K) The UK 2014 Lord Kitchener £2 Coin
One of the most talked about coins of the year, this British £2 coin reproduced the iconic ‘Your Country Needs You’ poster which symbolised the early years of the First World War.
Cast your vote now!
Top 5 – Britain’s Most Infamous Coins
British coinage has had its fair share of controversy over the years, but there are 5 coins that really stand out – each with a fascinating story behind them…
The Henry III Penny – with its ‘long cross’ designed to prevent clipping
1. 1247–1272 Henry III Long Cross Penny
The Clipped Coin
The practice of ‘clipping’ gold or silver coins has long proved irresistible for a few enterprising individuals who want to get more than they deserve for their money. The practice was most prevalent on hammered coins, with their already irregular shape masking the intended deception. A fraudster would clip or shave off a tiny section of a coin, then attempt to pass off the tampered coinage as original.
Over the months, the tiny clippings of gold and silver could well amount to a decent sum, whilst leaving the exchequer out of pocket. Successive monarchs and governments tried to stem the practice, with varying success – the harshest punishment being the death penalty. The Henry III ‘Long Cross’ Silver Penny is one of the most innovative examples of fraud prevention – the traditional short cross design on the reverse of the coin was extended to reach the edge of the coin – immediately making it obvious when a coin had been clipped.
The Hangman’s Wages – or money for old rope?
2. 1729–1754 George II Halfpenny
The Hangman’s Wages
How much was a hangman paid? Well, back when Tyburn was one of the most notorious locations in Britain it was 13½d. Situated at the end of what is now Oxford Street near Marble Arch in London, Tyburn was for centuries the home of capital punishment in England. The ‘Tyburn Tree’ – a triangular gallows – was used for executions right up until 1783.
Various sources suggest the Hangman’s fee for an execution was 13 pence, however the actual amount that changed hands was 13½d – the extra halfpenny was for the rope. Two of the most notable executions conducted at Tyburn were James ‘The Gentleman Highwayman’ MacLaine and Oliver Cromwell, whose dead body was exhumed and hanged again as an act of revenge by the Cavalier Parliament.
Could this have been The King’s Shilling?
3. 1787 George III Shilling
The King’s Shilling
It is the stuff of legend that Royal Navy press gangs would try any means to get potential recruits to ‘take the King’s Shilling’ – the signing up bounty for new sailors.
Acceptance of the shilling was deemed to be a commitment to recruitment in the King’s service, and as the dreadful food, harsh labour and risk of death did not appeal to many the coin was often surreptitiously dropped in a ‘free’ pint and handed over, which led to the creation of glass-bottomed tankards.
The Godless Florin
4. 1849 Queen Victoria Florin
The Godless Florin
For hundreds of years, right up until the present day, Britain’s coinage has been diligently pious – except for one notorious occasion. Each coin features a range of different Latin inscriptions, but all coinage features the full text or an abbreviation of Dei Gratia, Fidei Defensor – ‘by the Grace of God, Defender of the Faith’ – reference to the Monarch’s position as head of the Church of England.
However, in 1849 a new silver coin – the Florin – was introduced and this inscription was left off, with just Victoria Regina 1849 on the obverse. Despite the exceptional design of the coin, there was an immediate outcry from the strongly religious Victorians and the coin gained the nickname ‘the Godless florin’. It was even suggested that an outbreak of Cholera that year was the act of a vengeful God, visiting death upon the British population as revenge for leaving Him off the new coin. Suffice to say, after Queen Victoria herself complained, the coin was replaced, and remains to this day one of the most infamous one-year-only coin designs in British numismatic history.
The Barmaid’s Ruin
5. The Barmaid’s Ruin
1887–1890 Queen Victoria Double Florin
Introduced in 1887, the year of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, the double florin was for many an unwanted addition to British currency. The real reason for its introduction is disputed, nevertheless it became Britain’s second ‘decimal’ coin, just 2mm smaller in diameter than the familiar Crown yet worth a shilling less.
The unintended consequence was that a significant number of unscrupulous rogues tried to pass the coin off as a Crown, with naïve barmaids apparently the most susceptible to the deception. Anecdotal evidence suggests more than a few barmaids lost their livelihood on the grounds that they were losing the tavern owners money, hence the nickname Barmaid’s Ruin.
Want to secure all five infamous coins today?
The Westminster Collection have a limited number of complete sets available.
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The 50th anniversary of the most reproduced image in the world
Arnold Machin’s Effigy of the Queen in silhouette
50 years ago in 1964 Her Majesty the Queen approved a new portrait for her coinage, and set in motion a chain of events that led to the creation of the most reproduced image in the world.
The portrait in question was designed by Arnold Machin RA – and if you look in your pocket now you’re still likely to find a coin bearing the distinctive profile.
But even though millions of coins are struck every year – it was when the design was adapted for use on our stamps that it really took off…
300 billion and counting
The 6 1/2p Definitive Stamp featuring Arnold Machin’s effigy of the Queen.
Best estimates suggest that the Arnold Machin RA effigy of Queen Elizabeth II has now been reproduced on our stamps over 300 billion times – a staggering number.
In fact, amongst collectors, UK definitive stamps are now simply referred to as ‘Machins’ because the image is so ubiquitous.
But who is Arnold Machin RA, and how did he come to design this instantly recognisable image?
From pottery to sculpting the Queen’s portrait
Arnold Machin was born in 1911 in Stoke-on-Trent. Modelling and sculpture was in the family, but his father struggled to make ends meet with his freelance modelling job. Consequently Machin started work aged 14 at the Minton China Factory, as an apprentice china painter.
But he could not keep away from sculpture, and after a working for many years in the arts was appointed an associate member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1947.
Arnold Machin’s Effigy on a UK Crown
As if this wasn’t enough of an honour, in 1964 Machin was approached to design an effigy of the Queen for the new decimal coinage to be introduced in 1971. So, despite never having designed a coin before, Machin was granted four sittings with the Queen.
Cleverly using the bas-relief technique, which creates a raised sculpture from a plaster base, Machin came up with a design the Queen appreciated so much she has insisted it be used unchanged on our stamps for the past 40 years.
An £18,000 plaster cast
Perhaps testament to the enduring popularity of the image, and the design process behind it, one of Machin’s original plaster casts recently sold at auction for the princely sum of £18,000.
And I don’t think this will be the last we’ll hear of record breaking Machin sales – as time goes by the power of the image will not diminish, yet the availability of collectables will.
And now we are due to see a new portrait of the Queen on our coinage in 2015, this is bound to be an area to watch.
You may be interested in…
The Arnold Machin Queen Elizabeth II Philatelic Silver Set
The Westminster Collection is proud to present the first ever officially licensed silver philatelic set featuring Arnold Machin’s famous effigy of the Queen.
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