Decimalisation – Mixing Old and New

Posted on by Emma Wilde

Decimalisation One-Eighth Sovereign

This year marks the 50th anniversary of decimalisation in Britain, heralding in a new era of coins, and saying goodbye to over a thousand years of iconic designs. In our latest sovereign range, the talented artist Matt Dent has captured the old and the new beautifully. In tribute a tribute to Britain’s decimal fifty pence, these are the world’s first seven-sided sovereigns!

Each sovereign is split down the middle with a pre-decimal design on the left, and the design of a decimal coin complementing it on the right. Here, we take a look at the designs for each coin from the new 2021 50th Anniversary of Decimalisation Gold Sovereign Range.

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What Makes A Coin Collectable?

Posted on by Emma Wilde

Coin Collecting

Coin collecting, as a hobby, can take many forms. From collecting a few coins in a jar that you store at the back of a cupboard or in the attic, to keeping your coins in transparent sleeves in a folder to keep them in good condition and make viewing them easier. You may even have collections of coins that you keep in their original presentation cases, that you have never opened.

But what makes a coin collectable? Here, we take a look at four things that collectors think about when obtaining new additions to their collections.

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The Trial of the Pyx – What is it, and why does it exist?

Posted on by Emma Wilde
trial of the pyx
The Trial of the Pyx is one of Britain’s longest-established judicial ceremonies; held since the 12th century and remaining largely unchanged since that date and Henry III’s reign.

The word ‘pyx’ comes from the Latin word ‘pyxis’ or small box, and in this case refers to the chests used to store and transport the coins ready for the trial. Throughout the year, coins are randomly selected from every batch and denomination struck, sealed in bags of 50 and locked away in ‘Pyx’ boxes ready for testing to commence at the Trial of Pyx.

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Timeline of the 200 Years of the British Gold Sovereign

Posted on by Emma Wilde
The British Sovereign was first imagined in 1489 by King Henry VII, after he instructed officers of his Royal Mint to produce a ‘new money of gold’. Prior to that point, England had enjoyed circulating gold coinage for almost a century and a half, but the new coin, named a Sovereign, was to be the largest coin both in size and value.

Then in 1817, the ‘new sovereign’ made its debut with a newly imagined design featuring St George slaying the dragon. The new design was created by Italian gem engraver Benedetto Pistrucci and was destined to become one of the world’s most loved coin designs.

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Everything you need to know about the MV Royal Daffodil

Posted on by Emma Wilde
Our 2020 Dunkirk 80th Anniversary Gold Sovereign Range commemorates the remarkable rescue of Allied troops from the beaches of Northern France, sometimes known as ‘Operation Dynamo’.

The Gold Quarter Sovereign in particular, features a design that pays tribute to the MV Royal Daffodil, a passenger vessel that undertook no fewer than seven trips to the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 and rescued up to 9,500 troops. On the final trip, a bomb went right through her hull and exploded beneath her; the hole was plugged with a mattress and she made it home. After the War she was refitted and proudly bore a plaque that commemorated her as a ‘Dunkirk Little Ship’.

We are taking a closer look at the Troopship Royal Daffodil and everything you need to know.

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