Commemorative Categories

[Deeman]

Whilst having nothing better to do, I thought it might be of interest to assign categories to 50p & £2 commemorative issues up to the yet to be issued 2020 50p of Rosalind Franklin's photograph 51. The listing excludes the 40th and 50th 50p anniversary sets.
The categories are quite general, and some could be argued to reside in others from the ones assigned.

Art & Design - Numismatics:
£2 - 1994 Bi-metallic trial (issued in packs in 1998)
£2 - 2013 350th Anniversary of the Guinea
50p - 2013 100th Anniversary of the birth of Christopher Ironside
50p - 2019 Britannia 50th special anniversary edition

Engineering & Inventions:
£2 - 2001 Centenary of Marconi's wireless transmission across the Atlantic
£2 - 2004 Bicentenary of the first steam locomotive
£2 - 2006 Bicentenary of the birth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Paddington Station / Royal Albert Bridge
£2 - 2019 260th Anniversary of Wedgwood

Heritage:
50p - 2009 250th Anniversary of the Royal Botanic Gardens

Historical Events:
£2 - 2005 Quadricentenary of the Gunpowder Plot
£2 - 2011 Quincentenary of the maiden voyage of the Mary Rose
£2 - 2013 150th Anniversary of the London Underground, Train / Roundel
£2 - 2014 Quincentenary of Trinity House
£2 - 2015 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta
£2 - 2016 350th Anniversary of the Great Fire of London
£2 - 2018 / 2019 / 2020 250th Anniversary of Captain Cook's First Voyage
£2 - 2020 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower's Voyage

Literature:
50p - 2005 250th Anniversary of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
£2 - 2009 250th Anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns
£2 - 2011 Quadricentenary of the King James Bible
£2 - 2012 Bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens
50p - 2016 150th Anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter
£2 - 2016 400th Anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, Comedies / Tragedies / Histories
£2 - 2017 Bicentenary of the death of Jane Austen
£2 - 2018 Bicentenary of Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'
50p - 2019 160th Anniversary of the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
£2 - 2019 350th Anniversary of Samuel Pepys' Diary
£2 - 2020 Centenary of Agatha Christie's First Novel

Literary Characters:
50p - 2016 Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit / Squirrel Nutkin / Mrs Tiggy-Winkle / Jemima Puddle-Duck
50p - 2017 Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Peter Rabbit / Benjamin Bunny / Mr Jeremy Fisher / Tom Kitten
50p - 2018 Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit / The Tailor of Gloucester / Flopsy Bunny / Mrs Tittlemouse
50p - 2018 Michael Bond, Paddington Bear at Paddington Station / Buckingham Palace
50p - 2018 Raymond Briggs, The Snowman, flying with boy
50p - 2019 Raymond Briggs, The Snowman, standing with boy
50p - 2019 Julia Donaldson, The Gruffalo / The Gruffalo confronting mouse
50p - 2019 Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit
50p - 2019 Michael Bond, Paddington Bear at Tower of London / St Paul's Cathedral
50p - 2019 Nick Park, Wallace & Gromit
50p - 2020 Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit

Music:
50p - 2013 100th Anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Britten

Natural History:
50p - 2020 Dinosaur, Megalosaurus
50p - 2020 Dinosaur, Iguanadon
50p - 2020 Dinosaur, Hylaeosaurus

Organisations & Institutions:
£2 - 1994 Bank of England tercentenary
£2 - 1995 50th Anniversary of the United Nations
50p - 2003 Centenary of the formation of the Women's Social & Political Union
50p - 2007 Centenary of the Scouting Movement
50p - 2010 Centenary of Girlguiding UK
50p - 2011 50th Anniversary of the World Wildlife Fund

Politics:
50p - 1973 UK's accession to the European Economic Community
£2 - 1989 Tercentenary of Bill of Rights
£2 - 1989 Tercentenary of Claim of Right
50p - 1992 Creation of the Single European Market
50p - 1998 25th Anniversary of the UK's accession to the EEC
£2 - 2007 Tercentenary of the Act of Union of England and Scotland
50p - 2020 Brexit

Science:
£2 - 2003 50th Anniversary of the discovery of DNA
£2 - 2009 Bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin
50p - 2017 375th anniversary of the birth of Sir Isaac Newton
50p - 2018 Sir Isaac Newton 'strike your own coin'
50p - 2019 1st anniversary of the death of Stephen Hawking
50p - 2020 Centenary of the birth of Rosalind Franklin

Social Issues:
50p - 1998 50th Anniversary of the National Health Service
50p - 2000 150th Anniversary of the Public Libraries Act
£2 - 2007 Bicentenary of the Abolishment of the Slave Trade
£2 - 2010 150th Anniversary of Nursing
50p - 2018 Centenary of 1918 Representation of the People Act

Sport:
£2 - 1986 XIII Commonwealth Games
£2 - 1996 European Football Championships
£2 - 1999 Rugby World Cup
£2 - 2002 XVII Commonwealth Games, England / Northern Ireland / Scotland / Wales
50p - 2004 50th Anniversary of the first four-minute mile
£2 - 2008 Olympic handover from Beijing 2008 to London 2012
£2 - 2008 Centenary of the 1908 London Olympics
50p - 2009 London Olympics Blue Peter Athletics Competition
50p - 2011 London 2012 Olympics Sports (29 coins)
£2 - 2012 Olympic handover from London 2012 to Rio 2016
50p - 2014 Glasgow XX Commonwealth Games
50p - 2016 Olympics Team GB
50p - 2020 Olympics Team GB

War & Armed Forces:
50p - 1994 50th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings
£2 - 1995 50th Anniversary of VE Day
£2 - 2005 60th Anniversary of VE Day
50p - 2006 150th Anniversary of the Victoria Cross, Medal / Heroic acts
£2 - 2014 WWI centenary, Outbreak
£2 - 2015 WWI centenary, Royal Navy
50p - 2015 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain
50p - 2016 950th Anniversary of the Battle of Hastings
£2 - 2016 WWI centenary, Army
£2 - 2017 WWI centenary, Royal Flying Corps
£2 - 2018 WWI centenary, Armistice
£2 - 2018 Royal Air Force centenary, Badge / Spitfire / Vulcan / Sea King / Lightning
£2 - 2019 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings
£2 - 2020 75th Anniversary of VE Day

[Deeman]

I compiled this listing to see if there was any commonality in topics linked to denomination.

Engineering & Inventions are confined to £2 issues.
Historical Events, are confined to £2 issues.
Literature is mainly confined to £2 issues.
Literary Characters are kiddie topics for 50p issues.
Sport is an even mix of 50p and £2 issues.
War & Armed Forces is a mixture, but leaning more to £2 issues.

[<k>]

Nicely done.

I think '£2 - 2003 50th Anniversary of the discovery of DNA' is better categorised as science, though, as is Mr Darwin, rather than Natural History.

[Deeman]

Thanks for your reply <k>.

I did preface the listing saying "some could be argued to reside in others from the ones assigned", and the two you identified I thought were most suspect.
I will amend the list accordingly.

[SandyGuyUK]

A good piece of work there.

My only thought is whether the 50p - 2009 250th Anniversary of the Royal Botanic Gardens could/should go under the Natural History category (given that it's really to do with both nature AND history)! 

Ian

[eurocoin]

I think the Britannia '50th special anniversary edition' should be included under Engineering & Inventions as it commemorates the science that went into the making of the 50p coin.

[Deeman]

My only thought is whether the 50p - 2009 250th Anniversary of the Royal Botanic Gardens could/should go under the Natural History category (given that it's really to do with both nature AND history)!

My preference would be to retain the Heritage category. Do members have thoughts on this?

I think the Britannia '50th special anniversary edition' should be included under Engineering & Inventions as it commemorates the science that went into the making of the 50p coin.

I did consider its inclusion but I would have listed it under Art & Design. I will certainly include it. May I ask members for thoughts on category?

[<k>]

'Art and design' is really numismatic art and design. So here we have coins referring back to coins. Maybe it should just be called 'Numismatics'.

The trial 2 pound coin is an anomaly - it was not even really issued as a commemorative, because the trial came also with a pair of the loose unminted components: pill and ring. I wouldn't have included this reproduced trial in the list, but obviously different people think differently.

[Deeman]

I like that numismatic distinction <k>. Didn't think of that option and it would separate coins from any future true art & design issues.
I'll append 'numismatics' to the category and add the 2019 Britannia 50th special anniversary edition.

[<k>]

I like that numismatic distinction <k>.

That's what I call 'meta', because it refers back to itself. Sometimes called 'reflexive'. Or even incestuous or narcissistic, or up its own you-know-what. 

The edge inscription found on some of the round pound coins is reflexive: 'DECUS ET TUTAMEN' - 'an ornament and a safeguard' referring back to the physical inscription itself.