Will UK commemorate 90 years of visit by Gandhi?
Britain To Mark Gandhi's 1931 Visit With Commemorative Coin (https://www.ibtimes.com/britain-mark-gandhis-1931-visit-commemorative-coin-2843507)
Sajid Javid unveils plans for a new UK coin commemorating Mahatma Gandhi | Daily (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7559549/Sajid-Javid-unveils-plans-new-UK-coin-commemorating-Mahatma-Gandhi.html)
Very bad idea.
Bad reporting:
QuoteBritain will commission a commemorative coin to mark the 90th anniversary of the final visit by Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, its finance minister announced Thursday. (...) "I've asked the team at the Royal Mint to bring forward proposals for a new, commemorative coin of Gandhi," Chancellor Sajid Javid said.
If an Indian finance ministers asks the UK mint to do a coin, that does not mean the UK mint will do the coin.
That said, Gandhi's ideas belong to the world, not to India alone. It would therefore be quite appropriate for the UK to put him on a commem. It would even be a welcome change from the childish fluff they spew these days. That's why it's unlikely to happen. *sigh*
Peter
I would have thought that a commemorative issue this year for the 150th anniversary of his birth would have been more appropriate.
Don't go too much on the idea of linking a commemorative issue to his last visit to England.
Chancellor Javid is also Master of the Mint. If he tells the mint to do something, it will happen.
Similar topic has already been covered elsewhere but on a "rounder" anniversary:
Mauritius 2001 "MAHATMA GANDHI CENTENARY OF ARRIVAL IN MAURITIUS"
I have no particular objection to the nature of the event, and as Peter says it makes a change from some of the banal stuff we've seen recently. But 90 years? What is so special about 90? It was the same the other year when the RM commemorated the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. A worthy subject to be sure, but be patient and wait till 2066. There must be plenty of significant figures who were born, died or wrote/discovered/made something in 1921, or 1821, or xx21 - why do we have to look to 1931 instead? And if 1921 really is the year in which nothing at all positive worth commemorating happened, it is actually allowed to have a year with no commemorative coins.
As to what Sajid Javid has to say to the mint, I think the likelihood that he is no longer chancellor a long time before the start of 2021 is rather high.
Quote from: Figleaf on October 11, 2019, 10:22:47 AM
Bad reporting:
If an Indian finance ministers asks the UK mint to do a coin, that does not mean the UK mint will do the coin.
That said, Gandhi's ideas belong to the world, not to India alone. It would therefore be quite appropriate for the UK to put him on a commem. It would even be a welcome change from the childish fluff they spew these days. That's why it's unlikely to happen. *sigh*
Peter
Sajid Javid is the *United Kingdom's* finance minister, for the avoidance of doubt.
Thoughts about potential 2021 commemoratives.
450th anniversary of the opening of The London Royal Exchange.
Bicentenary of the death of the poet John Keats.
150th anniversary of The Royal Albert Hall.
250th anniversary of the death of the poet Thomas Gray.
250th anniversary of the birth of the novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott.
Bicentenary of the birth of George Williams, founder of the YMCA.
I see three 50-pence commemoratives and three 2-pound commemoratives.
Quote from: FosseWay on October 11, 2019, 01:15:37 PM
As to what Sajid Javid has to say to the mint, I think the likelihood that he is no longer chancellor a long time before the start of 2021 is rather high.
Sajid Javid is no longer chancellor but the coin topic is still alive
See
https://whtc.com/news/articles/2020/aug/01/uk-considering-a-coin-to-commemorate-indias-mahatma-gandhi/1045419/?refer-section=world
The Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee (VAPC), an organisation that offers help to veterans and their families to access vital welfare support has been in talks with The Royal Mint for some time now about a possible commemorative coin to be issued in 2021 for their 100th anniversary. To what extent these discussions are serious, I do not know. The VAPC is an advisory non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence.
In 2021 the Royal Mint will issue commemorative 50 pence coins with the following themes:
- 75 years since the death of television pioneer John Baird
- 50 years since decimalisation
- Team GB (this coin will have the same reverse design as the 2020-dated coin, just a different date).
Two commemorative 2 pound coins willl be issued to commemorate authors HG Wells and Walter Scott.
Thanks, eurocoin, as ever. Encouraging that they're marking the 50th anniversary of decimalisation. Will be interesting to see the design.
The "Diversity Built Britain" coin sounds like a reaction to Black Lives Matter, particularly as we've been encouraged to accept that many of the great figures of the past were slave traders. Big, bad, little Britain.
I'm assuming all of those coins will be included in the 2021 sets, but these days nothing can be taken for granted.
Quote from: Alan71 on October 15, 2020, 09:04:04 PM
The "Diversity Built Britain" coin sounds like a reaction to Black Lives Matter, particularly as we've been encouraged to accept that many of the great figures of the past were slave traders. Big, bad, little Britain.
A companion piece to the Brexit 50p I presume.
John Logie Baird trivia that might be of interest to soap opera aficionados.
He demonstrated the world's first colour transmission on 3 July 1928, using scanning discs at the transmitting and receiving ends with three spirals of apertures, each spiral with a filter of a different primary colour; and three light sources at the receiving end, with a commutator to alternate their illumination. The demonstration was of a young girl wearing different coloured hats. That young girl was Noele Gordon who went on to become a successful TV actress, famous for the soap opera Crossroads.
Quote from: Alan71 on October 15, 2020, 09:04:04 PM
Encouraging that they're marking the 50th anniversary of decimalisation. Will be interesting to see the design.
The coin will depict a selection of pre-decimal coins.
The Baird "Televisor" that sold during 1930-33 in the UK for £26 is considered the first mass-produced television, selling about a thousand units.
Quote from: Alan71 on October 15, 2020, 09:04:04 PM
The "Diversity Built Britain" coin sounds like a reaction to Black Lives Matter
The coin will depict a web symbolising the connections between communities across the country and the inscription "DIVERSITY BUILT BRITAIN".
The proclamation dated 14 Oct for decimalisation anniversary, John Logie Baird and Team GB states:
'For the obverse impression Our effigy with the inscription "· ELIZABETH II · D · G · REG · F · D · 50 PENCE · 2021" and for the reverse either: the inscription "1971 DECIMAL DAY" accompanied by a range of pre-decimal coins; or
the inscription "JOHN LOGIE BAIRD TELEVISION PIONEER" accompanied by a depiction of a television mast emitting circular radio waves with a range of dates relating to John Logie Baird and the dates "1888" and "1946" aside the mast; or
symbols depicting individual Olympic sports accompanied by the Olympic Rings, the Team GB logo, the inscription "TEAM GB" and the date 2020; or
For the obverse impression Our effigy with the inscription "ELIZABETH · II D · G · REG · F · D · 2021" with the denomination "50 PENCE" and for the reverse the inscription "1971 DECIMAL DAY" accompanied by a range of pre-decimal coins.
Why the differing statements for the decimalisation anniversary?
Noticed the same. Something odd going on there.
The proclamation for the £2 bi-metallic coins is:
For the obverse impression Our effigy with the inscription "· ELIZABETH II · D · G · REG · F · D · 2 POUNDS", and for the reverse either:
(a) a depiction of Sir Walter Scott accompanied by the inscription "SIR WALTER SCOTT NOVELIST HISTORIAN POET" encircled by the inscription "250TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH" and the date of the year. The coin shall have a grained edge and in incuse letters the inscription "THE WILL TO DO, THE SOUL TO DARE", or
(b) a depiction of the Invisible Man and a Martian encircled by clock numerals accompanied by the inscription "H.G. WELLS" and the date of the year. The coin shall have a grained edge and in incuse letters the inscription "GOOD BOOKS ARE THE WAREHOUSES OF IDEAS".
The design for the HG Wells coin appears quite busy, alluding to the novels The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine.
HG Wells was trained as a scientist which, not surprisingly, made him an important figure in the science fiction genre. Some of his predictions have come true:
In Men Like Gods (1923), readers are invited to a futuristic utopia that's essentially Earth after thousands of years of progress. In this alternate reality, people communicate exclusively with wireless systems that employ a kind of co-mingling of voicemail and email-like properties.
He also imagined forms of future entertainment. In When the Sleeper Wakes (1899), the protagonist rouses from two centuries of slumber to a dystopian London in which citizens use wondrous forms of technology like the audio book, airplane and television—yet suffer systematic oppression and social injustice.
Visitors to The Island of Dr Moreau (1896) were confronted with a menagerie of bizarre creatures created by the titular doctor in human-animal hybrid experiments that may presage the age of genetic engineering. Scientists are working towards animal organs serving as long-term transplants for human patients, and controversial chimera studies to create human-animal hybrids by adding human stem cells to animal embryos.
Martians in The War of the Worlds (1898) unleash what Wells called a Heat-Ray, a super weapon capable of incinerating helpless humans with a noiseless flash of light. Six decades later the first operational laser at California's Hughes Research Laboratory was fired up on 16 May 1960.
Wells recognised the world-changing destructive power that might be harnessed by splitting the atom. The atomic bombs he introduces in The World Set Free (1914) fuel a war so devastating that its survivors are moved to create a unified world government to avoid future conflicts.
Yet we await the fulfilment of his futuristic visions such as The Time Machine (1895) and The Invisible Man (1897).
The issuance of a commemorative coin in 2021 for the 100th anniversary of Northern Ireland is currently being considered.
Quote from: eurocoin on October 22, 2020, 07:23:36 PM
The issuance of a commemorative coin in 2021 for the 100th anniversary of Northern Ireland is currently being considered.
This is a bad idea on so many levels... ::)
Quote from: redlock on October 22, 2020, 08:37:48 PM
This is a bad idea on so many levels... ::)
Totally agree.
Northern Ireland was a partition for cater for the Unionist minority in the north of Ireland.
It sadly divided a country on religious grounds. No consideration whatsoever should be given to a coin to commemorate its founding. It could become a fuse to re-ignite troubles.
The Royal Mint will next year issue 3 further dinosaur 50p coins. The coins will depict the temnodontosaurus, plesiosaurus and dimorphodon. All 3 dinosaurs were discovered by paleontologist Mary Anning.
Quote from: eurocoin on November 12, 2020, 10:25:15 AM
The Royal Mint will next year issue 3 further dinosaur 50p coins. The coins will depict the temnodontosaurus, plesiosaurus and dimorphodon. All 3 dinosaurs were discovered by paleontologist Mary Anning.
Many thanks again eurocoin for the advanced information.
Had a thought, following the sequence of annual issues recognising pioneers of science, that next year we could see a commemoration for Charles Babbage as it is the 150th anniversary of his death.
Quote from: eurocoin on November 12, 2020, 10:25:15 AM
The Royal Mint will next year issue 3 further dinosaur 50p coins. The coins will depict the temnodontosaurus, plesiosaurus and dimorphodon. All 3 dinosaurs were discovered by paleontologist Mary Anning.
I didn't realise this until I read about Mary Anning's fossils, but, strictly speaking, her fossils are not dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs are characterised by having an upright stance, with legs perpendicular to their body.
Temnodontosaurus and plesiosaurus were marine reptiles, and dimorphodon was a winged reptile.
You live and learn!
Some information on the prehistoric reptiles discovered by Mary Anning in the seaside cliffs at Lyme Regis. All date from the early Jurassic period, between 200-175 million years ago.
Temnodontosaurus means 'cutting-tooth lizard' from the Greek temno 'to cut', odont 'tooth' and sauros 'lizard'. It is one of the oldest and largest Ichthyosaurs (meaning fish lizards) known. It was a particularly fiercesome marine reptile, an apex predator, growing up to 10m long and had the largest eyes (football-size) known of any vertebrate, surrounded by sclerotic rings (bony support), giving it extremely acute eyesight with protection against high pressure, allowing it to hunt at all depths of the Jurassic ocean.
The first scientifically recognised Temnodontosaurus was found by Mary Anning (aged 12) and her brother Joseph 1811-12. Joseph spotted the fossilised skull and Mary uncovered it to reveal the first complete Ichthyosaur fossil to be found. It was described in 1814 by Sir Everard Home, an anatomist with the Royal College of Surgeons.
Plesiosaurus, meaning 'near lizard', was a large marine reptile measuring between 3 to 5m in length. It had a small, short skull with conical teeth, very long neck, four paddle-like flippers and a short tail. Its neck could not be raised high and was constricted in its ability to sweep from side-to-side. Its conical teeth and long neck seemed to make it an adept ambush predator, living mostly on fish and belemnites (cephalopod molluscs).
The first specimen discovered by Mary Anning in 1820-21 in Lyme Regis was missing its skull. In Dec 1823 she found another one, this time with its skull - the first complete skeleton of Plesiosaurus to be discovered. British geologist William Conybeare published a paper on the discovery in 1824. The structure of society at the time made it impossible for Mary to publicly participate in science and most of her discoveries were published by men with whom she collaborated.
Dimorphodon, meaning 'two-form tooth', was a medium-sized pterosaur (winged reptile) and was one of the first large animals to travel by air. It had a large, bulky skull and the species was unique among pterosaurs because it had two types of teeth like that of a mammal, several large pointed teeth at the front with smaller ones at the back. It was probably a forest dweller living on a diet of insects.
In 1828 Mary Anning uncovered a strange jumble of bones, this time with a long tail and wings. It was a partial skeleton without a skull. What she found were the first remains attributed to a Dimorphodon. It was the first pterosaur ever discovered outside Germany. Geologist and palaeontologist William Buckland published a paper on the new species in 1835, crediting Anning with the discovery.
The 2021-dated shield 50p coin is now available in the My Lost Tooth Celebration Pack (https://www.royalmint.com/the-tooth-fairy/my-lost-tooth-celebration-set/). Remarkable that a 2021-dated standard coin is already available.
Quote from: eurocoin on November 26, 2020, 11:28:00 AM
The 2021-dated shield 50p coin is now available in the My Lost Tooth Celebration Pack (https://www.royalmint.com/the-tooth-fairy/my-lost-tooth-celebration-set/). Remarkable that a 2021-dated standard coin is already available.
Times must be hard for the RM.
How unimaginative!
The Royal Mint will next year issue a commemorative 50p coin for Charles Babbage depicting numbers that make his name in code. It will also issue commemorative 50p coins related to Winnie the Pooh. The latter coins will depict characters of Winnie the Pooh and a separate coin for Owl.
The Charles Babbage (1791-1871) issue commemorates the 150th anniversary of his death.
Charles Babbage is considered the 'father of the computer.' The 1820s saw Babbage work on his Difference Engine, a calculator that prepares numerical tables, using a mathematical technique known as the method of finite differences, by arithmetical addition only. It consisted of two major parts — the calculating mechanism and the printing and control mechanism. It operated on digits 0–9, represented by positions on toothed wheels and was designed to stamp its output into soft metal, which could later be used to produce a printing plate. In 1832, a working part (one-seventh) of the calculating section was assembled, but it was limited to two orders of differences and five figures, suitable for demonstration purposes only. It was about 24" high, 19" wide, and 14" deep, and worked perfectly producing tables based on the quadratic n2+n+41. The terms of this sequence are 41 (n=0), 43 (n=1), 47 (n=2), 53 (n=3), 61 (n=4) ..., giving the differences of the terms as 2, 4, 6, 8 ... and the second differences a constant value of 2, 2, 2 ...
All design and construction ceased on Babbage's Difference Engine in 1833, when Joseph Clement, the machinist responsible for actually building the machine, refused to continue unless he was prepaid. Babbage then worked on the design for a more complex Analytical Engine, a revolutionary device on which his fame as a computer pioneer now largely rests. This was intended to be able to perform any arithmetical calculation using punched cards that would deliver the instructions, as well as a memory unit to store numbers and many other fundamental components of today's computers. Babbage's friend, mathematician Ada Lovelace (Lord Byron's daughter), worked on developing the instructions for the Analytical Engine.
In 1846, Babbage abruptly changed course, and worked for two years on the design for Difference Engine 2, a refinement of the first requiring only a third as many parts.
Neither the Analytical Engine, nor Difference Engine 2, were finished in Babbage's lifetime due to lack of funding.
In 1991, the 200th anniversary of Babbage's birth, the Science Museum constructed a functioning Difference Engine 2 based on Babbage's original drawings. It consisted of 8,000 parts, weighed over 5t and measured 11ft long. It has a total memory < 1kB with eight 31-digit number registers (7 difference columns + result column) for solving polynomials with terms up to n7. In 2000, the Science Museum completed the printer Babbage had designed for the difference engine.
Babbage was a lifelong inventor. He invented the pilot (cow-catcher), which is the metal frame attached to the front of locomotives that clears the tracks of obstacles, and a dynamometer car able to measure train performance. He constructed the first known ophthalmoscope in 1847 for internal eye examinations, but didn't patent it and the credit went to Herman von Helmhotz 4 years later. He pioneered an occulting light mechanism (a light with mechanical shutters to create a unique flashing signal) to help with coastal ship navigation.
The designs of the first few commemorative coins of 2021 are of acceptable quality. A tad boring, maybe. But at least they are not very bad. 2021 is going to be a good year already.
Quote from: eurocoin on December 17, 2020, 02:10:32 PM
The Royal Mint will also issue commemorative 50p coins related to Winnie the Pooh. The latter coins will depict characters of Winnie the Pooh and a separate coin for Owl.
An email from RM slightly differs from the proclamation. RM indicate separate coins for Owl & Tigger together with one for Winnie the Pooh and friends.
Quote from: eurocoin on December 17, 2020, 06:38:57 PM
The designs of the first few commemorative coins of 2021 are of acceptable quality. A tad boring, maybe. But at least they are not very bad. 2021 is going to be a good year already.
That's ten 50p coins already advised:
John Logie Baird, decimalisation anniversary, Olympics, 3 x prehistoric reptiles, 3 x AA Milne characters & Charles Babbage.
Plus two £2 coins:
Walter Scott & HG Wells.
A bumper year ahead by the looks of it!
Quote from: Deeman on December 19, 2020, 11:21:14 AM
That's ten 50p coins already advised
Plus two £2 coins
A bumper year ahead by the looks of it!
Nothing new there then! Did we have that many this year? If we didn't, it certainly felt like it...
Quote from: Alan71 on December 19, 2020, 01:01:37 PM
Nothing new there then! Did we have that many this year? If we didn't, it certainly felt like it...
This year we had twelve 50p and four £2 coins.
I think we will almost certainly surpass the 50p count with the anticipated diversity issues and a Christmas coin, and I feel that there is the possibility of others to be added.
Possibly the £2 coins will remain at four as it has been for the past two years.
Quote from: eurocoin on December 17, 2020, 02:10:32 PM
The Royal Mint will next year issue a commemorative 50p coin for Charles Babbage depicting numbers that make his name in code.
An 8-bit binary code uses unique groups of eight 0s and 1s at a time to code for different letters, numbers, and symbols (e.g. *, &, ^, %, !).
If BABBAGE was spelt using capitals we should see:
B = 01000010
A = 01000001
B = 01000010
B = 01000010
A = 01000001
G = 01000111
E = 01000101
If spelt Babbage we should see:
B = 01000010
a = 01100001
b = 01100010
b = 01100010
a = 01100001
g = 01100111
e = 01100101
Ahead of the 50p coin issue for the 50th anniversary of decimalisation, which I assume will be issued with the year pack, I thought it would be useful to provide a short summary.
Full decimal coinage was introduced on 15 Feb 1971. The pound was now made up of 100 'new pence' instead of 240d with six new denominations, 50p to halfpenny.
First to make appearance were the 5p and 10p coins in 1968 which were issued alongside shillings (1/-) and florins (2/-) as they were directly compatible, with the 50p coin issued the following year on 14 Oct 1969 to replace the ten-shilling note (10/-). The ½p, 1p and 2p coins were released into circulation when full decimal coinage was introduced.
The designs were:
Bronze - ½p St Edward's Crown; 1p crowned portcullis (Badge of the Palace of Westminster); 2p Badge of the Prince of Wales, a plume of ostrich feathers within a coronet above the motto ICH DIEN (I serve).
Cupro-nickel - 5p the Badge of Scotland, a thistle royally crowned; 10p part of the Crest of England, a lion passant guardant royally crowned; 50p - Britannia seated beside a lion, with a shield resting against her right side, holding a trident in her right hand and an olive branch in her left hand.
The term 'new penny' was dropped in 1982 on the grounds that after ten years it was no longer 'new'. In that year a new denomination, the 20p coin was introduced.
Dates for pre-decimal currency becoming demonetised are:
10/- note - 22 Nov 1970; 2/6 half-crown - 1 Jan 1970; 2/- florin - 30 Jun 1993; 1/- shilling - 31 Dec 1990; 6d sixpence (continued circulating at 2½ new pence) - 30 Jun 1980; 3d brass threepence - 31 Aug 1971; 1d penny - 31 Aug 1971; ½d halfpenny - 01 Aug 1969.
Ahead of the £2 coin issue for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott, which I assume will be issued with the year pack, I thought some background information might be of interest.
Edinburgh born Sir Walter Scott was a poet, novelist, playwright and historian. His first publication was a three-volume set of collected Scottish ballads, The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Borders in 1802, which was an early indicator of his interest in Scottish history from a literary standpoint.
It was in the Borders that Scott was happiest and it was there that he followed up the Minstrelsy with a series of hugely popular narrative poems, including Marmion (1808) and The Lady of the Lake (1810). Marmion is about events of the Battle of Flodden, fought between England and Scotland in 1513, and introduced his most oft' quoted rhyme:
Oh! what a tangled web we weave
When first we practise to deceive!
The Lady of the Lake contains all the trappings of romance. Set in 16th-century Scotland around the border between the Highlands and the Lowlands, it depicts a love story against a background of conflicting communities and cultures.
Scott ventured into novels, blending fictional dialogue with historical fact, and is regarded as having created the historical novel on the publication of Waverley in 1814, which is the only book in the world to have a train station (Edinburgh Central) named after it. It relates the story of a young dreamer and soldier, Edward Waverley, as he journeys north from the south of England into the Highlands and the heart of the 1745 Jacobite uprising and aftermath.
Along with Guy Mannering (1815) and The Antiquary (1816), each of Scott's first three novels is set at a time of national crisis and are studies in the evolution of modern Scotland. The Tale of Old Mortality (1816) examines the creation of a political middle ground between opposing fanaticisms. Rob Roy (1817) is set during the 1715 Jacobite uprising, and provides the background for a journey of self-discovery for another young romantic protagonist who meets the larger-than-life title character, Rob Roy MacGregor. The Bride of Lammermoor (1819) is a Romeo and Juliet tragedy with an emphasis on the political context that destroys the lovers. The Heart of Midlothian (1818) is an extended but unresolved debate on the nature of justice, while Ivanhoe (1820), the first novel to be set outside Scotland, fashions a moral tale on male power and the abuse of women and racial minorities.
Thank you for the write-up, Deeman. There is no doubt that Walter Scott is a recognised member of the English language pantheon.
As a youngster, I was quite fond of Scott. I read the majority of his novels. However, I find that either they or I age badly. The high Victorian romanticism and saccharine endings do not rhyme with life at the times he describes being nasty, brutish and short in reality. His stories fit in well with Victorian interest in archeology and history that destroyed many historic sites and created myths that took centuries to be dismantled. Of course, Romanticism did similar things in France and Germany, but that doesn't make it better.
In the end, I switched to Kipling and from there to Poe, Wilde and Joseph Conrad. I just realised none of them are remembered on a coin :) It must be me ageing badly.
Peter
Ahead of the 50p coin issue for the 75th anniversary of the death of John Logie Baird, which I assume will be issued with the year pack, I thought some background information might be of interest.
Scottish inventor John Logie Baird was the first person to demonstrate a working television system. When he was eighteen, Baird went to Glasgow to study engineering. It took him eight years to finish, because he was often too unwell to attend classes. When World War I started, he tried to join the army, but was declared unfit, and was forced to work in a factory instead, where he found the work tiresome and he swore he would invent something – something that would provide him with a happy life.
In 1922 he began to research and experiment with the problems of transmitting and receiving visual signals. His experiments suggested to him that a 30-line resolution was the minimum to produce a recognisable image, and this was the standard he adopted. His breakthrough came on 2 Oct 1925 when he produced a recognisable image with tone gradation, first using the head of a ventriloquist's dummy he nicknamed "Stooky Bill" and then a human face. On 26 Jan 1926 Baird repeated his experiment, this time making a formal demonstration of his 'Televisor' in front of the Royal Institution. A Times journalist reported that the image was 'faint and often blurred.' His system used mechanical picture scanning and a transmitter with electronic amplification at the transmitter and receiver. The signal could be transmitted by telephone line or radio.
In 1927 Baird transmitted a long-distance signal over 438 miles of telephone line between London and Glasgow. In 1928 he developed a colour scanning technique, and made the first transatlantic television transmission from London to New York and the first transmission to a ship in mid-Atlantic. He demonstrated colour television for the first time on 3 Jul 1928 using scanning discs at the transmitting and receiving ends with three spirals of apertures, each spiral with a filter of a different primary colour; and three light sources at the receiving end, with a commutator to alternate their illumination. The demonstration was of a young girl wearing different coloured hats. That same year he also demonstrated stereoscopic (3D) television.
Reply#17 shows his 30-line 'Televisor' of 1930-33.
In 1930 the BBC broadcast a half-hour television programme on weekday mornings, produced in Baird's facilities, and two half-hour midnight broadcasts on Tuesdays and Fridays.
In July 1930 the first drama program was broadcast, The Man with a Flower in his Mouth. This was a static play wherein each actor took turns speaking a monologue to the camera, quickly exchanging places with another after a checkerboard card was slid between them and the camera. The production was simple, but the audience loved it. In 1931 Baird Television made its first outdoor broadcast, a horse race.
In the early 1930s Baird's mechanical system was rapidly becoming obsolete as electronic systems were developed, chiefly by Marconi-EMI in Britain and America.
Just in:
The Royal Mint and other dealers will release the new coins on January 4.
No 2021-dated coins will be released tonight!
Just received e-mail from Royal Mint about this including information that five commemorative coins in annual set. And on the photo (obverses visibles) are: 5 pounds, 2x 2 pounds and 2x 50pence, so second 50p instead of third 2£ as in previous years.
2021 coins will be released within one hour but pictures are already avaliable on daily mail website: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9108737/Royal-mint-coin-designs.html (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9108737/Royal-mint-coin-designs.html)
Free Gruffalo and Mouse BU pack at the Royal Mint for orders over 50 pounds enter code BND236.
H. G. Wells & Sir Walter Scott £2 issues.
Decimalisation & John Logie Baird 50p issues.
H. G. Wells - original illustration from War of the Worlds.
I particularly like the HG Wells & decimal anniversary designs.
The HG Wells design referring to the novels The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine.
The decimal anniversary coin showing portions of the florin, English shilling, farthing, thruppence, sixpence, halfpenny and penny from the Queen's reign, but no half-crown.
I have seen many positive messages about the new coins.
On the website of the Royal Mint (Set BU 2021), when describing 50 pence dedicated to decimalization, it is indicated that the designer of the obverse is Jody Clark. Although the portrait is clearly Arnold Machin.
Quote from: eurocoin on January 04, 2021, 10:25:49 AM
Free Gruffalo and Mouse BU pack at the Royal Mint for orders over 50 pounds enter code BND236.
BU pack ordered. Many thanks for the promo code eurocoin.
Quote from: avle64e on January 04, 2021, 11:23:12 AM
On the website of the Royal Mint (Set BU 2021), when describing 50 pence dedicated to decimalization, it is indicated that the designer of the obverse is Jody Clark. Although the portrait is clearly Arnold Machin.
The designer is not indicated as Jody Clark. As you say, it is the second effigy by Arnold Machin 1968-1984 with the Queen wearing Queen Mary's tiara that was given to her by her Grandmother.
This explains the apparent anomaly in the October 2020 proclamation that gave two differing legends for the 50p issues.
Quote from: Deeman on January 04, 2021, 01:12:39 PM
The designer is not indicated as Jody Clark.
Jodie Clark is listed for the 2021 set. https://www.royalmint.com/our-coins/ranges/annual-sets/2021-annual-coin-sets/the-2021-united-kingdom-brilliant-uncirculated-annual-coin-set/ The rest are written correctly. When I bought it, I only looked at the BU set. I checked the rest later.
Of the range of dates relating to John Logie Baird in the coin design, I would have thought that 1906, when he commences studying engineering, is not that momentous. It would have been more appropriate to have 1922 when he began to research and experiment.
The tripod on the H.G Wells coin looks like he has 4 legs!
Quote from: Col1n666 on January 04, 2021, 05:28:16 PM
The tripod on the H.G Wells coin looks like he has 4 legs!
The artist mentioned the following about his design: "Who can forget the spine-chilling jellyfish-like robots conceived in the promotions for The War of the Worlds? That creature was my favourite and I created my own interpretation of it that would take advantage of the circular canvas and appear to climb out of the composition".
So it got 4 legs because that is his interpretation and this way there is being made better use of the circular canvas. ::)
It should have had 3 just like in the book. Bad job of the artist and the Royal Mint Advisory Committee.
Following the negative attention, artist Chris Costello has now also released a further statement:
"The characters in War of the Worlds have been depicted many times, and I wanted to create something original and contemporary. My design takes inspiration from a variety of machines featured in the book - including tripods and the handing machines which have five jointed legs and multiple appendages. The final design combines multiple stories into one stylized and unified composition that is emblematic of all of H.G. Well's work and fits the unique canvas of a coin."
Quote from: eurocoin on January 05, 2021, 05:58:10 PM
Following the negative attention, artist Chris Costello has now also released a further statement:
"The characters in War of the Worlds have been depicted many times, and I wanted to create something original and contemporary. My design takes inspiration from a variety of machines featured in the book - including tripods and the handing machines which have five jointed legs and multiple appendages. The final design combines multiple stories into one stylized and unified composition that is emblematic of all of H.G. Well's work and fits the unique canvas of a coin."
Lame excuse by the artist.
I saw also an article in Guardian (online) about complains to design of this coin. There is also other error than 4 legs instead of 3: wrong type of hat on the Invisible Man. I don't know H.G.Wells books so I don't know which one type of hat is right but according this article not the one presented on coin.
By the way - for someone like me (don't know the book) coin is nice designed. I like it, other 2021 coins too. Full set already ordered (thank you eurocoin for promo code) but need to wait little longer as shipping to EU will start in middle January.
Quote from: MCz on January 05, 2021, 09:15:34 PM
I saw also an article in Guardian (online) about complains to design of this coin. There is also other error than 4 Legs instead of 3: wrong type of hat on the Invisible Man.
I think he wears a wide-brimmed hat, like a fedora.
QuadPods! :D
This is the article from the Guardian:
Observant fans of HG Wells have questioned how a new coin from the Royal Mint commemorating The War of the Worlds author could be released with multiple errors, including giving his "monstrous tripod" four legs.
The £2 coin is intended to mark 75 years since the death of Wells, and includes imagery inspired by The War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man.
Unfortunately, it strays from Wells' vision of his creations. "As someone who particularly likes one of his very famous stories, can I just note that the big walking machine on the coin has four legs? Four legs. The man famous for creating the Martian TRIpod," wrote artist Holly Humphries. "How many people did this have to go through? Did they know how to count?"
Science fiction novelist and professor of 19th-century literature Adam Roberts, who is author of a biography of Wells and vice president of the HG Wells Society, also criticised the depiction of the Invisible Man, shown in a top hat; in the book he arrives at Iping under a "wide-brimmed hat".
"It's nice to see Wells memorialised, but it would have been nicer for them to get things right," Roberts said. "A tripod with four legs is hard to comprehend (tri: the clue is in the name), and Wells' (distinctly ungentlemanly) invisible man, Griffin, never wore a top hat ... I'd say Wells would be annoyed by this carelessness: he took immense pains to get things right in his own work – inviting translators of his book to stay with him to help the process and minimise errors and so on."
Stephen Baxter, vice president of the Wells Society and author of The Massacre of Mankind, an official sequel to The War of the Worlds , said he thought Wells would have been "very flattered by the coin, but infuriated by that non-tripod! It's not just the extra leg but the stiffness of it. In the book itself, he has a sideswipe at the 'stiff, stilted tripods' depicted in an early 'pamphlet' on the war - in fact he was talking about clumsy illustrations in the newspaper serialisation of the book, its first publication. 'They were no more like the Martians I saw than a Dutch doll is like a human being.' Take that!"
Given all the criticism by aficionados of HG Wells, I personally like the artistic license undertaken by the designer.
How would you react to a portrait of Elizabeth II, decked with a mural crown (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mural_crown) and sitting on a five-legged horse?
Peter
Not a realistic analogy, Figleaf. Horses exist.
They do too. :) Also the five-legged variant (Google them), but that's not the point. Horses are better off with four legs and contraptions are better off with three legs for the same reason that three-legged stools are more stable than four-legged stools. The four-legged contraption is as inferior as a five-legged horse. A curiosity, but fit for a queen/extraterrestrial with superior brain?
Peter
Scans of year set.
The Royal Mint will this year issue a series of coins to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mr. Men.
Is it confirmed that Decimal Day 50 pence will have second effigy on the obverse?
Quote from: Pabitra on January 08, 2021, 01:43:44 PM
Is it confirmed that Decimal Day 50 pence will have second effigy on the obverse?
Confirmed.
Quote from: eurocoin on January 08, 2021, 01:36:23 PM
The Royal Mint will this year issue a series of 50p coins to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mr. Men.
Hope it is limited to this year only. There are at least 50 characters.
After the designer intentionally chose to depict a Martian Machine with 4 legs on the coin, as some of those depicted in Wells books had 3 legs and others 5 (so he chose his own 'interpretation'), and decided to depict a Victorian type of hat, a type of hat that cannot be seen in the books "to signify the Victorian era in which the books were released", both of which were very bad ideas of the artist.
It has now been found that also a real mistake was made on the coin. H.G. Wells was misquoted. On the edge of the coin there is written: "Good books are the warehouses of ideas", which on websites with quotes of famous people is widely believed to be a quote of H.G. Wells. In fact however Wells never said that. A character in one of his books however once said: "Good books are the warehouses of ideals". But that is not a quote of something H.G. Wells himself has ever said nor is it what is written on the edge of the coin.
This is the article in the Guardian to which eurocoin refers:
It is a mystery that HG Wells' characters would have been quick to leap on, but one that would doubtless have enraged the fastidious Wells himself: what is the origin of the quote chosen by the Royal Mint and attributed to him on the new Wells £2 coin?
Intended to mark 75 years since the death of the author, the coin has already been criticised for depicting the "monstrous tripod" featured in The War of the Worlds with a fourth leg, and for giving his Invisible Man a top hat, which the character never wore. Then the Wells expert Prof Simon James spotted the quote chosen for the edge of the coin: "Good books are warehouses of ideas." James and his fellow academic Adam Roberts, a vice-president of the Wells Society, could source no such quote in Wells' writing – although it is credited to him on various inspirational quote websites.
"Wells is one of those authors who is often given as the author of misattributed or invented quotations on the internet – there's a notorious one about seeing a human being riding a bicycle for which neither I nor any other Wells scholar has been able to identify a source," said James. "Surely the Royal Mint hasn't just plucked a quotation off the net without checking the source ... has it?"
Author Eleanor Fitzsimons solved the mystery. She tried searching Wells' writing for a quote with "warehouses" in it, and found an approximation in his obscure work Select Conversations With an Uncle (Now Extinct) and Two Other Reminiscences. That quote, however, is not what appears on the coin: it reads, "Good books are the warehouses of ideals."
"I absolutely love solving literary mysteries," said Fitzsimons, whose biography The Life and Loves of E Nesbit features an appearance from Wells; Nesbit taught her fellow author how to play badminton, and he seduced her daughter.
Unfortunately for the Royal Mint, not only is the Wells quotation inaccurate, the actual sentiments expressed are likely to be far from what the author intended. The words are spoken by a character who believes that ideals should be hidden away in books, and goes on to say that "there is a time for ideals, and a time when they are better out of the way".
"The correct quotation is not Wells speaking in his own voice, but in the voice of a character whose opinion is definitely not always to be trusted. English academics exhort our students to check the original source when they can – what a shame the Royal Mint didn't think to do so before producing all these coins with a letter missing," said James, adding that Wells had an antipathy to 19th-century notions of high culture: "He would have been all for people reading The Republic or The Origin of Species or Wells' own work ... [but] the notion of 'books are wonderful' would make his blood boil."
The error echoes a previous literary mistake by the Royal Mint: the £10 Jane Austen bank note was printed with the quote, "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!" – a line spoken not by Austen but by her character Caroline Bingley, who has no interest in books at all.
Asked about the source of its quotation, the Royal Mint told the Guardian that "Good books are the warehouses of ideas" was "widely associated with HG Wells".
Its four-legged tripod, meanwhile, is "an interpretation of the various machines in War of the Worlds", and the invisible man is "wearing a Victorian top hat to signify the era".
It added that all themes considered for Royal Mint coins go through a planning and design selection process governed by an independent panel known as the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, which includes experts in art, heraldry, typography, sculpture, history and numismatics. It did not mention that any literary experts had been consulted.
In the topic Origin of Edge Inscriptions on £2 Coins, I have added the word "misquoted" to reply#8
The Decimalisation 50p will tomorrow be released in BU packs. The coin will not be released into general circulation. The coins in the BU packs will depict the Jody Clark portrait on their obverse.
50th Anniversary of Decimalisation.
Tristan da Cunha have released a coin set to mark 50 years of decimalisation. The set includes 1/2p, 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, and 50p. I quite like it although I don't think it's worth the £245 asking price!
Quote from: eurocoin on January 08, 2021, 01:36:23 PM
The Royal Mint will this year issue a series of 50p coins to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mr. Men.
Plenty of scope! 49 in total.
Quote from: Deeman on January 11, 2021, 06:43:52 PM
Plenty of scope! 49 in total.
Maybe one per week - they still have a chance to issue all 49 this year.
(It's joke of course...)
With regard to potential issues within the Diversity category, I thought that the trio of historical figures below would be well received as an initial offering this year:
Olaudah Equiano - the ex-slave and the first political activist within Britain's African community.
William Cuffey - the ex-slave and a prominent Chartist leader.
Mary Jane Seacole - who devoted her life to learning about medicine and caring for others.
Any thoughts from forum members?
Disappointing news for all those looking forward to the Mr Men coins. In contrary to my previous message they will be collectors coins, not commemorative coins. 3 different coins will be issued this year for the commemoration.
Quote from: eurocoin on January 17, 2021, 05:27:18 PM
Disappointing news for all those looking forward to the Mr Men coins. In contrary to my previous message they will be collectors coins, not commemorative coins. 3 different coins will be issued this year for the commemoration.
Appreciate the update, eurocoin. Do we assume, therefore, there will be a mix of Mr Men & Little Miss characters?
Quote from: Deeman on January 17, 2021, 05:50:27 PM
Appreciate the update, eurocoin. Do we assume, therefore, there will be a mix of Mr Men & Little Miss characters?
The coins commemorate the Mr Men and Little Miss books. I an not allowed to say too much but one coin for one, another coin for the other and the third commemorating both seems like a good idea, doesn't it? ;)
Quote from: eurocoin on January 17, 2021, 05:27:18 PM
Disappointing news for all those looking forward to the Mr Men coins. In contrary to my previous message they will be collectors coins, not commemorative coins. 3 different coins will be issued this year for the commemoration.
It's probably me being thick, but I'm not sure I understand the difference between "collectors coins" and "commemorative coins". Can you clarify?
Quote from: Alan71 on January 17, 2021, 11:28:59 PM
It's probably me being thick, but I'm not sure I understand the difference between "collectors coins" and "commemorative coins". Can you clarify?
It looks like it is going to be a mix of Mr Men & Little Miss characters. The Mr Men series started in 1971, The Little Miss series started in 1981. Therefore it cannot be a common commemoration.
You would have to have a dedicated topic/subject for a commemoration.
Quote from: Alan71 on January 17, 2021, 11:28:59 PM
It's probably me being thick, but I'm not sure I understand the difference between "collectors coins" and "commemorative coins". Can you clarify?
Commemorative coins are the 10p, 50p, 1 pound and 2 pound coins. Collectors coins are the pieces with the usually higher denominations and larger size that are legal tender but not made for general circulation. The cash cycle is not designed for them.
Commemorative coins are what on this forum is being referred to as "special circulating coins" and collectors coins are here being called "non-circulating coins".
Ah, I see. So these will be £5 coins then? That's good, I don't collect those! Seems odd that Beatrix Potter, Paddington etc are "only" worthy of 50p coins while the Mr Men get the £5 treatment though.
Quote from: Alan71 on January 18, 2021, 12:41:51 AM
Ah, I see. So these will be £5 coins then? That's good, I don't collect those! Seems odd that Beatrix Potter, Paddington etc are "only" worthy of 50p coins while the Mr Men get the £5 treatment though.
Disappointing! Pockets need to be deeper and at a time when people are struggling. Like you Alan71, there will be no sales from me.
The Royal Mint has stopped deliveries of the Decimal Day 50p BU pack. The pack contains an error that The Royal Mint will rectify. Delay is expected to be 4-6 weeks. The booklet in the BU packs says "The design for 2020" which of course should have been 2021.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=105795;image)
Some people remarked that the 1 farthing coin depicting the wren that can be seen on the commemorative coin has not too much to do with Decimal Day as it had been demonetized a decade earlier, in 1960. I thought it an interesting observation. It is somewhat odd that they chose to include the farthing coin but not the half crown, that was minted and in use up until Decimal Day.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=46924.0;attach=105444;image)
I think they included the farthing because of the wren - it's more appealing in the design and it is more rooted in the memories of people who remember pre-1971 coins in use. Neither of my parents is particularly interested in coins but if I ask them "What was on the tails side of the farthing?" they'd know immediately, whereas they'd be a lot less sure about the half-crown (which, for avoidance of doubt, had the royal arms on).
Quote from: FosseWay on January 19, 2021, 07:21:40 AM
I think they included the farthing because of the wren - it's more appealing in the design.
Totally agree, and the halfpenny is also worth noting as these two coins departed from heraldic / royalty themes. I just wish RM would issue designs for the currency range that normal 'folk' can associate with.
Quote from: Deeman on January 19, 2021, 09:33:01 AM
Totally agree, and the halfpenny is also worth noting as these two coins departed from heraldic / royalty themes. I just wish RM would issue designs for the currency range that normal 'folk' can associate with.
And the 1937-52 threepence. Totally agree regarding heraldry. With hindsight it feels as if there was a move in that direction in the 1930s, with the new farthing, halfpenny and threepence, but that that movement away from traditional national heraldry stopped. Possibly because of the war - people doubled down on the traditional overtly patriotic/nationalistic designs.
Quote from: eurocoin on January 17, 2021, 05:27:18 PM
Disappointing news for all those looking forward to the Mr Men coins. In contrary to my previous message they will be collectors coins, not commemorative coins. 3 different coins will be issued this year for the commemoration.
I meant to ask this question last week when I received an email from the RM about registering interest for the Mr Men issue, but it slipped my mind (age related!):
Should RM have issued such an email prior to the issue of the Royal proclamation?
By this point she will already have seen the theme and the designs and not have objected to that so the official proclamation will just formalize that. The royal proclamation is a mere formality. Officially there is a chance that the Queen will not approve the release of the coins, she can of course change her mind until the proclamation has been approved. That would mean that the Mint will have to cancel the release but that chance is extremely small.
As long as the coins aren't being issued before the Queen has approved them, officially there is no problem. However, announcing the theme before the Queen has officially approved it could be interpreted as the Mint thinking they are above the Queen. For that reason I don't like this at all and find it questionable behaviour. It is not the first time that The Royal Mint has done this.
Quote from: eurocoin on January 21, 2021, 11:24:21 AM
By this point she will already have seen the theme and the designs and not have objected to that so the official proclamation will just formalize that. The royal proclamation is a mere formality. Officially there is a chance that the Queen will not approve the release of the coins, she can of course change her mind until the proclamation has been approved. That would mean that the Mint will have to cancel the release but that chance is extremely small.
As long as the coins aren't being issued before the Queen has approved them, officially there is no problem. However, announcing the theme before the Queen has officially approved it could be interpreted as the Mint thinking they are above the Queen. For that reason I don't like this at all and find it questionable behaviour. It is not the first time that The Royal Mint has done this.
Thank you for the reply eurocoin. I did think that RM's email was questionable.
Conservative MP Caroline Nokes has today asked Jacob Rees-Mogg in parliament to use his influence so that a commemorative coin will be issued for the passing of Sir Tom Moore. Rees-Mogg, who is involved in the official approval process of commemorative coins, welcomed the idea and hoped to receive a request for approval of such coin from The Royal Mint in due course.
Quote from: eurocoin on February 04, 2021, 07:29:47 PM
Conservative MP Caroline Nokes has today asked Jacob Rees-Mogg in parliament to use his influence so that a commemorative coin will be issued for the passing of Sir Tom Moore. Rees-Mogg, who is involved in the official approval process of commemorative coins, welcomed the idea and hoped to receive a request for approval of such coin from The Royal Mint in due course.
Splendid proposal. I hope it does become a reality and maybe a portion of the profits generated from BU sales etc., can be passed on to the NHS.
I will add that I was appalled by London-based Reverend Jarel Robinson-Brown's tweet condemning nationwide clap 'does not undo hurt'.
Personally, I am really not sure about this proposal. Maybe a coin to mark the end of the COVID pandemic with some reference to him, but not specifically one for his passing. Furthermore the Royal Mint has in the last year treated Sir Tom as garbage so I would really hate to see The Royal Mint profiting from a coin released to commemorate him.
Quote from: eurocoin on February 04, 2021, 07:29:47 PM
Rees-Mogg welcomed the idea and hoped to receive a request for approval of such coin from The Royal Mint in due course.
Surely the RM can be instructed to produce a specific coin.
Quote from: Deeman on February 05, 2021, 01:12:23 PM
Surely the RM can be instructed to produce a specific coin.
Officially the choosing of themes for commemorative coins of the UK is the task of the 'Sub-Committee on the Selection of Themes for United Kingdom Coins', which falls under The Royal Mint Advisory Committee. They select themes that subsequently have to be approved by HM Treasury and the Palace. That is the official order.
However of course The Royal Mint is owned by HM Treasury so the Chancellor of the Exchequer (who is also Master of the Mint) is in an influential position.
In recent decades the Chancellors of the Exchequer were never really interested in their role as Master of the Mint. Of course it came with certain tasks but it was mainly deemed a traditional title while the Deputy Master of the Mint (The Royal Mint's ceo) does the real work. In recent years however we see a new type of mintmaster in the UK. One who is actively and publicly involved in the choosing of the themes. Although it is not their task and they really should not be doing it, increasingly The Royal Mint and the United Kingdom's coinage are being politicized and used as a political instrument of the Master of the Mint and his party. The release of the controversial Brexit and Diversity coins are examples of that. We also saw it when shortly before a Brexit deadline, in the middle of the night on a Saturday HM Treasury sent out a press release that the new 1 pound coin was being rolled out to the crown dependencies and British Overseas Territories to highlight the Great British manufacturing industry and divert attention from the Brexit process which at that point was doomed to fail.
Other members of parliament have since also identified the possibility of using the coinage as an interesting tool by coming up with proposals for all kinds of commemorative coins, something that earlier never used to happen.
I am very much against this rapidly increasing political influence on the UK's coinage. I am not sure what The Royal Mint's opinion is on it but I guess that they have little choice but to accept it. After all, the company's future is not looking good and sooner or later the day will come when HM Treasury and maybe parliament will have to decide on its future, and then you better have friends there.
To get back to your question, yes there will likely be people who unofficially have the power to instruct which coins to issue. Likely people like Rishi Sunak and Anne Jessopp. Rees-Mogg is not a person with such influence.
Appreciate your detailed reply eurocoin.
Yes, I agree, interesting. Can you explain more on how the company's future is not looking good? Is this because of the gradual move to a cashless society or because they're pricing themselves out of the global market and losing contracts to the likes of Pobjoy, Tower and other world mints? Presumably Parliament and the government could decide to privatise it if it's no longer providing the expected level of profits?
Will the Royal Mint miss out on much when they miss out on a contract to make less than ten thousand of a new base-alloy "collector" issue for Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey... or other small place ? I realise there are some gold and silver coins involved too.... But are any of these "big" contracts ?
Generally compared to the most of those contracts I would have thought that the British coins are a much bigger turnover for the Royal Mint....
Thanks Mr Paul Baker
The Royal Mint has certainly been losing contracts and not only small ones like the crown dependencies. Earlier today for example the circulation coins for Haiti were at full speed coming out of the presses at Royal Dutch Mint, while that for several decades was a Royal Mint exclusive country. However, in general they are still doing fairly ok and I expect that they will still be for some time. Certainly also as they are hoping to convince countries to change their lower banknote denominations into coins. Last year they secured their largest ever order with a foreign client. But of course we have to be realistic. The world is going cashless and because of the pandemic and more and more people getting used to digital payments, the process will only go faster.
Now, this is of course not much news. However, the only hope for the future, the commemorative coin business is not going well either and they do not expect the situation to get better any time soon. As reason for this they mention that as the UK is going cashless, fewer people will come into contact with commemorative coins and therefore people won't start collecting or will stop collecting coins. Of course there is also significant competition from the UK's private mints. In part this is also because they are able to produce coins for much more popular themes than the UK. The UK of course requires a very strict connection between the theme and the UK whereas the crown dependencies approve just about anything. Collectors can only spend their pound once. I fear that the commemorative coin market in the UK will become saturated. We all know what happened to the stamp market once that happened.
The Royal Mint Experience is still not profitable either and I am really not sure how it will ever become more popular than it already used to be. I mean, during the SYO hype people would be flooding The Royal Mint, families keeping their children home from school to strike coins all day at the mint. The mint was full of people who did tour after tour after tour. If you cannot make a profit then, you never will.
Aside from coins, they tried to go into new business oportunities setting up entire gifting and jewellery departments but this failed miserably (and made them loose a ton of money). They found out that people shop at The Royal Mint for coins, not for towels or teddybears.
The Royal Mint's future is not looking good.
Thanks for the further info, eurocoin. Even for collectors I have never found the Royal Mint to give a particularly great service. Going way back to 1993 when I started collecting, ordering would be done by post and I would send my cheque off. With some orders, I would be waiting what seemed like months and would have to ring them to find out what was happening. I would leave a voicemail and rarely if ever got a response. Once, I remember sarcastically saying, Hello, is there anyone there?. In those days it was not a private company so had a monopoly. That was fine as prices were very reasonable and they did not charge for postage.
Was it around 2010 they became a private company (albeit fully owned by the government)? From there the steep price rises and postage charges started. Since then I have hardly ever ordered directly from them.
Quote from: eurocoin on February 05, 2021, 11:12:12 PM
Aside from coins, they tried to go into new business oportunities setting up entire gifting and jewellery departments but this failed miserably (and made them loose a ton of money). They found out that people shop at The Royal Mint for coins, not for towels or teddybears.
A new venture for RM - all for £29.99 ???:
For the first time in its history, The Royal Mint has combined gold with chocolate, offering customers the unique opportunity to indulge in style. In partnership with Bullion®, an award-winning bean-to-bar chocolate maker, each bar has been exquisitely crafted and is presented in a gold foiled luxury gift box.
This gift box contains three bars of chocolate, two milk and one dark, each weighing 63g. With a 50% cocoa content, the milk chocolate has notes of roasted nuts, butterscotch and vanilla while the dark chocolate contains 70% cocoa, with notes of hazelnut, caramel and dried fig. Each bar also contains edible gold leaf.
Never before heard anyone about them (https://www.royalmint.com/gifts/by-recipient/gifts-for-him/bullion-chocolate-bar-in-gift-box/) so they will no doubt be a great success.
I honesty thought Deeman's post was a wind-up. It amused me until I clicked on eurocoin's link. Seriously?! And it's not 1 April yet.
You say that now, but how long until you visit 'The Experience' ? ;)
The RM want to give impression that they are doing great and the future is bright. Some excerpts from the Annual Report 2019-2020:
We delivered strong international growth across all key divisions; increasing our share of the precious metals market and achieving record overseas orders for currency. Our Collector Services division sourced and sold Britain's first £1 million coin, and our 'Brexit' commemorative range achieved record single day sales. As a result, our revenue for 2019–20 has grown by 35% to £568 million, and we narrowed our loss before tax to £(0.2) million – evidence that our strategy of diversification is working.
Overseas sales were at a record-breaking level in the year with the coins and blanks produced stretching around the world twice if placed end to end. The quality of the overseas order book continued to improve year on year and within this exceptional performance we signed our largest ever contract with an overseas client. This achievement is also a reflection of the strong role that cash continues to play in many economies around the world.
Quote from: Big_M on February 06, 2021, 09:14:01 PM
we signed our largest ever contract with an overseas client.
What are your guesses for who this client is?
"Narrowed our loss" being the key words there. All sounds rosy until they reveal they are still making a loss. "Narrowed" sounds optimistic but only confirms they've been making a loss for some time.
The annual report is always full of propaganda. The pandemic caused a very large increase in orders for precious metals. There is not going to be a pandemic every year though so this is not a permanent thing. Same for Brexit. Events with an impact like that are only very rare so it is nice that they made money from a coin like that but in the long term this sales success is not going to help them.
The Royal Mint also launched a financial product (ETF) for gold that is listed on the stock markets in London and Frankfurt but people who are into precious metals are very hesitant. They feel that if you can't hold it you don't own it. And that belief is, and has always been, deep-rooted. I do not think that a company like The Royal Mint will be able to change that. I am convinced that they will struggle to sell it to investors.
As for <k>'s question. I have been wondering about it. We do not know whether it is an order for coins or blanks though.
You confuse two sides of the market. A mint or jeweller or similar uses precious metal to make something. They need physical metal. When the price of that metal changes, the value of metal in storage changes. The applicable rules for the UK mint are those of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). They say: Commodity brokers and dealers should measure their inventories at fair value less costs to sell and recognize the changes in fair value in profit or loss in the period of the change.. There are no specific rules for mints, but there is a rule (IFRS 8) that says (simplified) that where there is no rule, you take the closest IFRS rule instead.
Mints make stuff. They are not metal speculators. To take the risk of the metal price change off the balance sheet, there are several financial instruments, but the simplest is to sell your stocks on term, rebalancing periodically for changes in stocks. In that way, what you gain in the term market, you lose in the stocks and vice versa. You cannot use an ETF to do this.
An ETF is a basket of listed funds. It is a good instrument for risk-aware investors, because it includes several investment lines and avoids paying for traders (alpha) and churning, so it is relatively cheap. ETFs are typically sold by very big banks.
Retail investors who "invest" in physical metals are investment idiots. Holding physical precious metals either makes you an attractive target for criminals, responsible for accidental losses and even lost capital when the investor dies suddenly and has not told his inheritors where to find the metal or it incurs high cost for safe storage.
If you source is the gold council, this is a hyper-commercial club of US mine owners trying desperately to sell the physical gold their owners mine. Never take anything they say at face value.
Peter
Some of the annual sets mistakenly contain a 2020-dated Britannia 2 pound coin.
All of the people who received a Decimal Day 50p pack with the incorrect date 2020 printed on the booklet in the pack of The Westminster Collection, will receive a free correct pack mid March.
Mary Anning's prehistoric reptiles.
Looks like the Mary Anning reptiles are only available coloured.
Quote from: Deeman on February 25, 2021, 11:27:55 AM
Looks like the Mary Anning reptiles are only available coloured.
No, on the Royal Mint website are also non-coloured versions avaliable. First one already avaliable, second will be issued in March and third in April as stated on website. Coloured are exxclusivly avaliable on Royal Mint (so like with 2020 series - non-coloured will be avaliable probably in dark blue packaging and not coloured not).
Quote from: MCz on February 25, 2021, 11:30:27 AM
No, on the Royal Mint website are also non-coloured versions available. First one already available, second will be issued in March and third in April as stated on website. Coloured are exclusively available on Royal Mint (so like with 2020 series - non-coloured will be available probably in dark blue packaging and not coloured not).
Missed that! Thanks for the correction.
For non-colour carded ones...looks like both Westminster and Koin Club are selling the dinosaur 50 pence coins.
Quote from: kena on February 25, 2021, 07:53:51 PM
For non-colour carded ones...looks like both Westminster and Koin Club are selling the dinosaur 50 pence coins.
Kena, I didn't know this prior to reading about them, but they are actually prehistoric reptiles, not dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs are characterised by having an upright stance, with legs perpendicular to their body.
This week I received this email from RM:
"Since shipping the 2021 United Kingdom Brilliant Uncirculated Annual Coin Set, we have become aware of a minor spelling error on the packaging.
We pride ourselves on offering unrivalled quality in our coin ranges, and would like to apologise for this error. Should you wish to exchange your product please log onto our returns portal to create a free returns label. Once we have received your returned set we will provide you with a replacement 2021 United Kingdom Brilliant Uncirculated Annual Coin Set within a few days."
Tell me what error we are talking about.
The error is that the packaging says 'Televison' which should of course have been 'Television'.
Quote from: eurocoin on March 06, 2021, 01:36:16 PM
The error is that the packaging says 'Televison' which should of course have been 'Television'.
Thank you very much! Indeed, there is such a typo. )))
For an extra £10 you can have a bit of Olympic colour. Limited issue 12,021. What is the point of such an absurd figure?
Presumably 2021 as per this year, which probably isn't enough so they stuck another 10k on. I've seen such mintage figures being marketed by them before.
Free postage codes for the official 2021 Team GB 50p BU pack:
Royal Mint: DSC348
Westminster Collection Quick Order: 5CA/848T/0
The Royal Mint free postage code is also valid for orders of all other products on their website.
Quote from: Deeman on June 21, 2021, 12:43:46 PM
For an extra £10 you can have a bit of Olympic colour. Limited issue 12,021. What is the point of such an absurd figure?
To train mintage hounds like you not to trust mintage figures. :D
It appears that on a significant amount of the coloured 2021-dated Team GB 50p coins the paint was not applied on the logo. Many people are complaining about this. As it is only a small area that is painted, it is extra noticeable when the paint does not align precisely. Some of the known variants can be seen below. C is what the coins are supposed to look like.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=109219;image)
Quote from: eurocoin on June 26, 2021, 09:23:47 PM
It appears that on a significant amount of the coloured 2021-dated Team GB 50p coins the paint was not applied on the logo. Many people are complaining about this.
People receiving these errors shouldn't complain really, as they will attract a good premium on re-sale. They haven't reached ebay as of yet, so the extent of the uplift is still awaited.
Quote from: Deeman on June 28, 2021, 10:32:02 AM
People receiving these errors shouldn't complain really, as they will attract a good premium on re-sale. They haven't reached ebay as of yet, so the extent of the uplift is still awaited.
One would indeed expect that. However, so far there does not (yet) appear to be a lot of interest for off-center colouring errors. Neither on these coins nor on other, previously issued, coloured coins.
Quote from: eurocoin on June 26, 2021, 02:02:12 PM
Free postage codes for the official 2021 Team GB 50p BU pack:
Royal Mint: DSC348
I tried this cupon the same day as it was added here but it showed me that "Coupon not valid" :(
Probably promotion code was very limited to small number of customers.
This annoys me greatly. The code was only supposed to become invalid at midnight on 4 July. It is not yet 4 July!
It will be interesting to see what The Royal Mint is going to do now that England has reached the semi finals of the European championship football. In recent years, special sports achievements were commemorated by the mint. Back in 2016, when England reached the semi finals of the world cup football, The Royal Mint released a redated version of the Queen's Beasts Lion of England 5 pound coin for the occasion. In 2019 yet another redated version of the Queen's Beasts Lion of England 5 pound coin was released, as well as a gold version of the letter C (cricket) in the Alphabet 10p series, when the UK won the cricket world cup.
The following new commemorative coins have today been announced:
Discovery of insulin 50p
Tigger 50p (as part of the Winnie the Pooh 50p series)
Many thanks for the update, eurocoin.
Do you know if RM still intend to issue the Charles Babbage commemorative for the 150th anniversary of his death?
The 'discovery of insulin' 50p appears to be a departure by RM from only celebrating British achievements.
The discovery of insulin has been a milestone that revolutionised both the therapy and the prognosis of diabetes, the condition that causes a person's blood sugar level to become too high. Small clusters of cells scattered in the pancreas, discovered by Langerhans in 1869 and known as the islets of Langerhans, are at the centre of the pathology of diabetes. The pancreatic islets are composed of five endocrine cell types, one of which are β-cells which produce insulin that finely tunes the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and protein inducing the uptake of glucose from the blood into fat, liver and skeletal muscle cells.
In 1921, Dr Frederick G. Banting, using laboratory dogs, became the first individual to isolate the secretions from islet cells and tout them as a potential treatment for diabetes. He observed that other scientists might have failed to find insulin because digestive enzymes had destroyed the insulin before anyone could extract it.
Banting was the first Nobel nominee from Canada, and a bottle of insulin now takes pride of place on the Canadian $100 bill as a result.
There is a British connection to the discovery of insulin.
Former Aberdeen Grammar School pupil John Macleod - later to become Regius Professor of Physiology at the University of Aberdeen - played a central a role in the discovery of the life-saving therapy insulin.
Professor Macleod was Professor of Physiology and Associate Dean of Medicine at the University of Toronto - where he was known for his work on carbohydrate metabolism. Dr Frederick Banting approached Professor Macleod, who was his lab director, about a theory regarding a treatment for diabetes which, until the finding, almost certainly led to death. Professor Macleod provided Banting with funding, full use of his laboratories and supervised the research.
Here you see the 2 pound coin commemorating the 75th anniversary of death of H.G. Wells.
Image copyright of the Royal Mint.
The design references his novels "The Invisible Man", "The War of the Worlds", and "The Time Machine".
Here you see an excerpt from the 1933 film, "The Invisible Man".
The 4th coin in the Winnie the Pooh series - Winnie the Pooh and his friends - is due to be released very soon.
Joining the party later in 2021 are Tigger and Owl.
Winnie the Pooh and Friends released today. Will not be circulated.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=111510;image)
The Winnie-the-Pooh and Friends design (with added bee) comes from the story 'In Which Christopher Robin and Pooh Come to an Enchanted Place, and We Leave Them There.' The last story in the two-book issue.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=111511;image)
EH Shepard illustration
Tigger.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=111517;image)
The Tigger design (with added bee) is from part of an illustration from the story 'In Which Pooh Invents a New Game and Eeyore Joins In.'
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=111518;image)
EH Shepard illustration
Owl.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=111519;image)
The Owl design (with added bee) is based on an illustration from the story 'In Which Christopher Robin and Pooh Come to an Enchanted Place, and We Leave Them There.'
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=111520;image)
EH Shepard illustration.
Quote from: eurocoin on June 26, 2021, 09:23:47 PM
It appears that on a significant amount of the coloured 2021-dated Team GB 50p coins the paint was not applied on the logo. Many people are complaining about this. As it is only a small area that is painted, it is extra noticeable when the paint does not align precisely. Some of the known variants can be seen below. C is what the coins are supposed to look like.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=109219;image)
Cool coin though
The Charles Babbage 50p, as part of the Innovation in Science 50p series:
The design was made by Nigel Tudman and Jas Bhamra.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=111712;image)
Terrific idea, and terrible design
It appears that very recently, likely earlier today, the dies of the SYO press at The Royal Mint Experience have clashed again leading to interesting pieces being struck:
The current Strike Your Own coin is the Decimal Day 50p.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=111721;image)
Instead of yabp (yet another boring portrait), the design tries to capture what the commemoration is about: the differential machine. The man and the machine needed each other, of course, but the man is dead and the concept of the machine lives on in our computers, phones, cars and toasters :), so it does and ought to take precedence. For some good pictures of different parts and angles of the machine, look here (http://math.pc.vh.free.fr/divers/machines/babbage.htm). (link in french)
Peter
QuoteInstead of yabp (yet another boring portrait), the design tries to capture what the commemoration
But it fails misserably, which is too bad because the Babbage machine is actually a thing of beauty and could have been a beautiful subject for a coin
Quote from: eurocoin on September 13, 2021, 10:17:27 AM
The Charles Babbage 50p, as part of the Innovation in Science 50p series:
The design was made by Nigel Tudman and Jas Bhamra.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=111712;image)
As a Babbage, I'm a little annoyed that they wrote this "babbage" and not "Babbage". How hard is it to get the writing custom of a capital letter right?
As of today, the 2021-dated Britannia 2 pound coin is the new Strike Your Own coin at the Royal Mint Experience.
(http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=39617.0;attach=111830;image)
And just how is this a commemorative coin?
It's a standard circulation coin. I have however never seen a single one in circulation.
Only 3,575,000 Britannia £2 coins (from two dates: 2015 and 2016) have ever been issued into circulation. That's fewer than many circulating commemoratives, so although it's not a commemorative, it's still desirable as a strike-your-own. It's only available as part of sets otherwise.
Is the Royal Mint's updated mintage figures list really correct? No commemorative £2 coins have been issued for circulation since those dated 2016?
https://www.royalmint.com/corporate/circulating-coin/uk-currency/mintages/two-pounds/
Quote from: Alan71 on September 24, 2021, 07:18:21 PM
Is the Royal Mint's updated mintage figures list really correct? No commemorative £2 coins have been issued for circulation since those dated 2016?
It is correct to date, but I think that eurocoin has mentioned that some 3,000,000 of 2020 75th Anniversary of VE Day will be eventually released.
No, it is not a commemorative. And yes, the Royal Mint's pages are correct. No VE-day 2 pound coins will be released into general circulation.
From 19 November there will be a new SYO coin at the Royal Mint Experience.
Enter code BND252 for a free commemorative coin with your order from The Royal Mint. According to the information I was provided, the code expires 26 October.
Personally I think the centenary of the founding of the British legion should be foremost on the list of commemorative coins.
How about a coin to commemorate boudicca ???
She already got one (https://www.westminstercollection.com/p-185F/Boudica-Gold-plated-Piedfort.aspx) when she visited the Cook Islands. Bleeping Romans were everywhere. Fortunately, she had Asterix' magic potion handy.
Peter
The new centenary of the discovery of insulin 50p has been released.
https://westminstercollection.com/media/52237158/dn-change-checker-2021-discovery-of-insulin-bu-50p-product-images-2.jpg?height=150&width=210&bgcolor=fff
Centenary of the discovery of insulin. Reverse designer Iris de la Torre.
Snowman issue released today. Reverse designer Robin Shaw.
From 19 November the Christmas 50p will be the new SYO at the Royal Mint Experience.
Quote from: Deeman on October 18, 2021, 11:34:24 AM
Centenary of the discovery of insulin. Reverse designer Iris de la Torre.
The canadian toonie looks much, much better
Westminster Collection's coin of the year, by one vote, was 50th Anniversary of Decimalisation.
The HG Wells 2 pound coin is available for face value + 2.99 pounds postage from the Westminster Collection:
https://www.westminstercollection.com/quickorder/details.aspx?qoc=185743K4