Interest in Iron Lady memorabilia soars
Whether you loved or loathed her, the fact of the matter is that since her death, demand for Baroness Thatcher memorabilia has rocketed.
A huge amount appeared online just 24 hours after the announcement. Ranging from the downright bizarre to the slightly comical such as toby jugs, key rings and coasters, more genuinely sought-after items such as signed copies of her memoirs, photographs and Christmas cards are also proving popular.
The Margaret Thatcher NumisProof
Incredibly sought-after
Political memorabilia has always been in high demand and none more so than for Lady Thatcher, Britain’s first and only female PM.
Even before her death, her Northern Ireland “Battle Bus” sold for $26,000 in February this year. Last September, Christie’s sold her one of her trademark jade green wool business suits for £25,000 (they had also sold her famous, if rather unflattering, Spitting Image puppet for just over £2,000 in December 2007).
Special one-day-only commemorative cover postmarked 17th April, the day of Lady Thatcher’s funeral
Divided opinion
And if you’re thinking the Iron Lady’s unpopularity among certain factions means less interest and less demand, you couldn’t be more wrong.
The fact she was so controversial during her three consecutive terms as PM at No 10 – due largely to the poll tax, trade unions and the miner’s strike – has only fuelled interest further.
Available while stocks last, a selection of commemoratives, issued to mark the life of Baroness Thatcher, is now available exclusively from The Westminster Collection.
Another sell-out for the world’s fastest-selling silver coin series
The latest Canadian $20 silver coin has now sold out its entire 250,000 edition limit
With its entire 250,000 worldwide edition limit now sold out, the Ice Hockey coin becomes the latest Royal Canadian Mint $20 silver coin to sell-out – securing the $20 coin as the world’s fastest-selling silver coin series.
A collecting phenomena
In just two years, the Canadian $20 silver coin series has caused an unprecedented collecting frenzy among collectors not just at home but worldwide with all seven coins selling out extremely fast. The first coin in the series featuring the Maple Leaf was issued in 2011 with a worldwide edition limit of 200,000 pieces. Just 29 days later, every single one had been sold.
Quick – but not the quickest
Surprisingly though, the Maple Leaf isn’t the fastest-selling coin in this series to date.
To cope with the unprecedented level of demand following the Maple Leaf’s success, 250,000 coins of each of the next 5 issues were struck. But as the mintage increased, so too did demand, particularly among Canadians. Once they had one, they simply had to have the next. And the next and the next – leaving many collectors disappointed.
The one to beat! The Polar Bear is the fastest selling coin of the series to date
Faster than the Diamond Jubilee issue
It was however the Polar Bear $20 silver coin that broke all previous records selling out in just 25 days – incredibly, that was 5 days faster than the celebrated 2012 Diamond Jubilee issue, which was comparatively slow at 30 days.
Collectors haven’t had to wait too long to catch a glimpse of the next coin in the series. There’s every reason to assume all 250,000 of the new 2013 Canada Wolf Silver $20 Coin, the eighth of the series, will also sell out in double-quick time.
The next coin in the hugely popular series features the Wolf
Now officially sold out worldwide.
About Time – new Royal Mail stamps mark Dr Who’s 50th anniversary
The Royal Mail has today issued a new set of 1st class stamps to mark this year’s 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. The stamps feature each of the eleven actors who have played the lead role in the world’s longest-running science fiction series over the last five decades.
The time-travelling adventures of the Time Lord in his Tardis battling against his arch-enemies like the Daleks and Cybermen have entertained generations of families, and been a regular part of Saturday teatime TV since its first broadcast on 23rd November 1963.
William Hartnell played the first ever Doctor back in 1963
William Hartnell played the first ever Doctor back then. With no colour TV, his stamp, like those first ever episodes, is in black and white. The same goes for his successor, Patrick Troughton. It wasn’t until Jon Pertwee in 1970 that the popular TV show was first broadcast in glorious colour.
Matt Smith currently plays the famous Time Lord
Bringing the set right up to date is current Doctor, Matt Smith. With his distinctive tweed jacket and bow tie, he is the youngest actor ever to play the famous Time Lord, taking over from David Tennant in 2010 at the age of just 28.
Tom Baker has starred in the most episodes
The fourth incarnation, Tom Baker is the longest-serving Doctor to date, having starred in more episodes than anyone else between 1974 to 1981. This could in part explain why for many of us, he remains the archetypal Doctor with his uncontrollable curly hair, frock coat and unusually long scarf!