UK Commemorative coins for 2019

[eurocoin]

Good to see that you can obtain up to three coins per tour, but not in favour of the additional cost. The savings you make with having no bridge toll have disappeared!

After first having announced the prices incorrectly (a mistake that was never published on the forum), it now turns out the Royal Mint has also made a mistake in the maximum amount per person per tour. The maximum per tour is 5. 7 pounds for the first one and 9 pounds each for upto 4 further pieces. People who are for free on the tour itself like carers and very young children, are allowed to only strike 1 coin per tour (at a cost of 7 pounds).

[Alan71]

I managed to pick one up off the ‘Bay for not too steep a price.  The obverse inscription includes “50 Pence”, presumably for those too stupid to work out that “50 New Pence” (or “New Pence 50” as it actually reads) and “50 Pence” are one and the same...

The Royal Mint Experience’s Facebook account tries to have it that “the last time this design appeared on a UK coin was 1982” so naturally I had to comment that it was actually 1981 and that they really should get their facts right.  I also pointed out the 2009 proofs.

We’re in an era of fake news, of course, but if an organisation can’t get its own historical facts correct, when it’s easier than it’s ever been to research it, there really isn’t much hope for the average person.

[Deeman]

Well said Alan71.
I notice that 50 pence appears in the obverse legend of the Britannia coin. Would I be correct in saying that this differs from the 2009 anniversary version?

[Figleaf]

I suspect that in such a large, bureaucratic organisation, there are several tribes. One of these is probably the old guard: meticulous and measured. Another may well be the marketing monkeys: fashionable, fast, faulty. I would expect that these tribes have given up on each other and do not communicate.

Peter

[Alan71]

Well said Alan71.
I notice that 50 pence appears in the obverse legend of the Britannia coin. Would I be correct in saying that this differs from the 2009 anniversary version?

Yes.  The 2009 version used the then-standard obverse inscription.  That was before the Facebook generation of collectors though, so the Mint could be sure that buyers would know that “50 New Pence” is equal to “50 Pence”.

After I posted here, I noticed another error in the Royal Mint’s Facebook post.  The illustration of the coin that they used was a mule of the “New Pence” inscription but with the substantially altered Britannia design of 1982-2008.  So someone at the Mint had gone to the trouble of creating this image and was obviously completely oblivious to the fact that there were two Britannia designs.  Thankfully the coins themselves depict the correct version.

[Alan71]

The “50” figure is from the 1982 version as well.  The position of “Pence” is as the 1982 version, so they’ve literally just swapped “Fifty” for “New” to create this.

[eurocoin]

There was another Royal Mint mistake related to this coin. In the app in which you can have a closer look at the coin, the wrong obverse was used. The mistake has now been corrected. We can conclude it is a mess there and I have no hopes whatsoever of things getting any better under this new CEO.

[Alan71]

The wrong Britannia also extends to the packaging for the coin itself.



There should be a choice of packaging... the alternative one being “An eBay seller struck this 50p coin and then sold it to me at a profit”.

[<k>]

50 pence 1969.

50 pence 1982 (proof FDC version).

Actual examples of the original two versions of the 50 pence coin.

[Deeman]

Alongside the packaging scan of the 50p Britannia from the Royal Mint Experience, the RM tweeted in Jan 1:
"To celebrate the leap into 2019, visitors can now Strike their own Britannia 50 pence coin.
The last time this design appeared in circulation was 1997."
How absolutely crass!

[Alan71]

Alongside the packaging scan of the 50p Britannia from the Royal Mint Experience, the RM tweeted in Jan 1:
"To celebrate the leap into 2019, visitors can now Strike their own Britannia 50 pence coin.
The last time this design appeared in circulation was 1997."
How absolutely crass!

Peter’s comment I think sums it up.  The old guard that would have the correct info probably aren’t respected, and therefore not asked.  So the young go-getters with little interest in coins but plenty in marketing are free to make such errors as most of the Facebook generation either won’t notice or won’t care.

[Deeman]

I see that the Royal Mint are marketing a special anniversary set comprising an original 1969 50p piece in a minimum of VF condition together with a 2019 Matthew Dent 50p – only available to collect as part of a set and not as an individual coin. All for £45, a figure coincident with free p&p!
What a pricing policy!!!
Interesting, though, the statement that the 2019 50p definitive will not be circulated.

[Alan71]

Yes, I saw that.  And it is, of course, a complete rip-off.  A 1969 50p in Uncirculated condition (therefore much better than very fine) is only £9.69 (with free postage) as a buy-it-now on eBay.  The 2019 coin is available in the definitive set of 8 coins for £30 or the complete set (with commemoratives) for £55.

[Deeman]

Looks like the RM have had a rethink on the 2-coin 50p anniversary set. Now priced at £30 + p&p. Still too expensive.

[eurocoin]

They said the previous price was a mistake in their system  For the people who would like to get the coins in the set, the Westminster Collection is now selling them in different packaging, at a better price.