Coin Collector

The design features the turning pages of a book, the dates ‘1850’ and ‘2000’, and the value, all above a classical library building on which appear the words ‘PUBLIC LIBRARIES’. Look closely and you can also see compact discs, which rather date this coin as most of no longer use CDs or CD-Roms (remember them?) Collector notes With a high mintage figure, it’s likely you will have seen this coin in your change at some point. However, only 7,634 silver proof first day covers were issued and just 710 gold versions of the coin, so there are varieties to pursue if you’re particularly keen on the design. The design on this ‘Suffragette’ 50p is dramatic if a little complicated, though the sentiment is clear. We see a protester chained to railings and holding a banner on which appear the letters WSPU. To the right is a ballot paper featuring the words ‘GIVE WOMEN THE VOTE’, along with the value and the relevant dates: 1903 and 2003. Collector notes Despite a relatively low mintage, this coin can still be obtained for around £1.50. At the other end of the scale a gold proof version of the coin recently sold for £471 on eBay after receiving seven bids… you pays your money and you makes your choice, as a wise soul once said! A precursor to the Olympics coins that would follow some eight years later, this 50p celebrates Roger Bannister’s run on 6 May 1954, when he ran a mile (that’s 1,609.344 metres) in under four minutes. Of course, the record has been broken many times since then, but this record-breaking run was certainly worth celebrating. The coin pictures the legs of a running athlete (is this the first instance of a living person, aside from the Queen, being depicted on a coin?) with a stylised stopwatch in the background and the value below. Collector notes With a nine million mintage, this coin isn’t winning any rarity races, but it’s still a distinctive design to have, and circulated copies can be purchased for £1 or so. If you’re a fan of the historical sit-com Blackadder , you may well be familiar with Samuel Johnson’s attempts to record every word used in the English language for what became the first dictionary. In real life it wasn’t thrown on the fire by an absent-minded Baldrick, and Johnson took his place in British history and earned himself a coin honour many years later. The coin shows entries from the Dictionary for the words ‘FIFTY’ and ‘PENCE’, with the figure 50 above, and the inscription ‘JOHNSON’S DICTIONARY’ 1755 below. Collector notes With a huge mintage, this coin is common. National newspapers recently reported that someone was selling a copy of the coin on eBay for £3,500, and they were right, but the coin won’t have actually sold and it’s not worth anything like that, so be warned. Examples can be purchased for about £2 but isn’t it more fun to look out for an example in your change? 2000 - 150th Anniversary of the Public Libraries Act Mintage: 11,263,000 Approx. value: £1.50 2003 - 100th Anniversary of the formation of the Women’s Social and Political Union Mintage: 3,124,030 Approx. value: £1.50 2004 - 50th anniversary of the first four-minute mile by Roger Bannister Mintage: 9,032,500 Approx. value: £1 2005 - 250th Anniversary of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language Mintage: 17,649,000 Approx. value: £1