Author: webuycoins

The value of a coin is usually dependent on two main factors. The first is scarcity and the second is condition. Scarcity is quite easy to understand and appreciate. Clearly a coin where only 10,000 exist is going to be a lot scarcer than a coin which had 10 million minted. Other more subtle factors come into play here as well, such as popularity. A coin from the UK will have a much greater following than a coin from Papua New Guinea simply because there are more collectors of UK coins. A UK coin with a mintage of 10,000 will be more valuable than a Papua New Guinea coin with a similar mintage because of the important adage of supply and demand. 

The scarcity factor however is further complicated by condition and what we call the survival rate. As we have said before, any coin with a low mintage number is going to be scarce, but on many occasions a coin can be deemed scarce because it is scarce in a high-quality grade. Considering that most coins that have ever existed were produced purely for circulating amongst the population to facilitate the purchase of goods and general trade, then the large majority of coins will over time show considerable wear and tear. Goodness knows how many hands coins pass through in their lifetime. They jingle about in our pockets, they get dropped on the floor, they are constantly rubbing against other coins, getting scratched and worn. If we take the humble Victorian Penny, let’s say the 1862 issue, there were over 50 million minted in that year alone. We can therefore class this coin as common. However, the vast majority will show various stages of wear meaning that the poorest examples will only be worth about £1. If however you were to find one that is virtually uncirculated – so pretty much as it was when it first came from the Mint, then the price rises to £200 – not bad for a “common” coin but clearly to find a coin that has survived 160 years old still in perfect condition is very unusual. It is a similar situation to buying a Corgi model car in the 1950’s. How many kids would have kept the car untouched in its original box and left it there for 70 years? Obviously not many, just the same as someone finding a brand-new shiny Penny in 1862 and thinking to themselves, I will keep that and not spend it and hopefully it will be worth something someday. 

Therefore the second factor, condition – the assessment of which is termed grading, is vitally important whether we are talking about a scarce coin, or a more common coin which has a low survival rate in a high grade. For the large majority of collectors and dealers in the UK they tend to use the British system of grading. The United States and some other countries use their own methods, but we certainly stick to the tried and tested UK standards.

We have listed below the main grades or states of condition that you can use for coins issued since the late 1700’s. Before that coins were Hammered and because of their age and more crude appearance, such a wide variety of grades are not required so often.

UNC: Uncirculated:  As it implies – a coin which has not been in circulation. Pretty much as good as you can get – the highest grade. May not be completely 100% perfect, as coins can pick up the odd scratch or “bag mark” due to contact with other coins during the minting process.

EF: Extremely Fine: A coin which has had minimal circulation, in fact could almost appear as virtually Uncirculated but with slight wear on the highest areas of relief and a few scratches/marks showing under magnification.

VF: Very Fine: A coin which has seen little use but starting to show more wear on the highest areas. Still shows a great amount of detail and considered an attractive example from the collector’s viewpoint.

F: Fine: Coins in this grade show considerable wear on all raised surfaces but with some details still visible.

FAIR: A heavily worn coin but still identifiable with readable date and legends.

POOR: A very worn coin only just recognisable. Coins in this grade will only be worth the scrap metal value unless they are incredibly rare.

As perhaps you can see from these descriptions there are many general terms being described which will always be open to different interpretations leading to varying opinions on values. It does take many years of experience examining coins and comparing the different grades to fully appreciate the condition scale detailed above. We must stress that this is a guide and really to find out a true professional opinion on both condition and value then please contact us at webuycoins.

For quite a few years now there has been a lot of hype regarding the potential values of Modern UK Commemorative coins. When we mention the term Modern, we are specifically talking about the 1980’s onwards up until the present day.

Before the 1980’s Commemorative coins were few and far between. They normally came in the form of a Crown, either costing 5/- in £.s.d, or 25p in Decimal money, later to be raised to £5 to cover the increase in production costs. These Commemorative Crowns were usually reserved for major Royal events such as Coronations, Silver Jubilees, or landmark birthdays. Due to the popularity of the Royal Family they were produced and sold in their millions and so consequently today, are only worth around their original Face Value, mainly because when produced they were not intended for circulation, but to be kept as souvenirs and so there are still many millions in existence.

Moving forward to the 1980’s the Royal Mint undertook a programme of producing Commemorative coins for arguably events of a lesser importance. It seemed as though they wanted to compete with the Royal Mail who traditionally were allowed to produce many Commemorative sets each year marking Birth and Death anniversaries of notable UK figures, Sporting events, popular themes like Birds/Animals, Trains, Star Wars, Harry Potter etc.

It all started quite slowly in 1986 with The Commonwealth Games in Scotland when a £2 coin was issued but by the time the 2000’s came along there were several different Commemoratives produced each year, mainly for the 50p and £2 coins. 

As the majority of these coins did enter normal circulation (except for Proof versions in Silver or Gold that we will come to later) it became a popular pastime to collect the different types available that could quite easily turn up in your loose change. However, the numbers of each Commemorative entering circulation varied usually between 3 million and 10 million, which are clearly big quantities and so again they will not be worth much more than their original Face Value, especially if they show signs of circulation with scratches or dents. Occasionally, there would be an issue that would have a significantly lower mintage – for example the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p where there were only 210,000 minted. Given the number of collectors worldwide this represents a very low mintage and consequently this coin is highly sought after. But this coin is the exception really. Some coins have a mintage of 1 million or just below and will be worth a few pounds but not the Hundreds or sometimes Thousands of pounds asked on eBay and similar online auction sites.

The hype started around the time of the 2012 Olympics. The Royal Mint produced a series of 29 50p coins depicting different events found at the Olympics. The quantities minted did vary but were mainly between 1.5 million and 2 million. Clearly with such a momentous event taking place in our country everyone was seeking souvenirs and mementoes. The race was on to complete the set of 29 coins and of course some proved more difficult to find than others. You then only need a national newspaper reporting one rogue sale on eBay of a coin selling for let’s say £500 (the sale of which more than likely was never completed), and suddenly the word spreads that such and such coin is worth £500 – “check your change now!” they would scream. The reality is that with a couple of million coins in circulation there would always be enough to go round.

As a result of these Commemoratives being issued, many people would have taken up the hobby and of course that is a good thing, as long as they restricted themselves to trying to find them in their own change or maybe going to a dealer who would charge a minimal premium. 

Perhaps one of the most hyped coins was the 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p. We had so many enquiries about this coin that it became very frustrating, as people were looking on eBay where sellers were asking for literally thousands of pounds each. Again the reality was that there were nearly 10 million minted!

Please remember that if you go onto eBay to research a coin, organise your search with the lowest price first which should give you a more realistic idea of value. The problem was that people searching for a Peter Rabbit 50p would start at the highest price, assume that was the true value, without then scrolling down to the lowest price on offer. Also remember that if the coin is being marketed as a “Buy it Now” and is still live, then that simply means that no-one has bought it, which in turn means that it is probably over-priced. Following or “watching” an auction can usually give you a much more realistic idea of the true market value rather than a “Buy it Now” offer.

Proof versions

Most of the Commemorative coins that we have spoken about have been issued over the last 40 years or so were also made available in specially produced Proof versions. A proof coin is generally of a much higher quality than a circulated coin, being produced with hand-finished dies that eliminate any imperfections. Due to the meticulous nature and time-consuming process of producing these coins they are only available in limited quantities. Endeavouring to attract both collectors and investors, the Royal Mint produce their proofs in Silver or Gold and sometimes even Platinum.   They are usually contained in a plastic capsule and presented in a special box accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. It is strongly recommended not to handle these coins as the mirrored finish is susceptible to showing the smallest trace of a fingerprint which will greatly reduce the value.

These Proof coins are very popular, but condition is of paramount importance and must come with the original box and certificate.

Summary

Collecting the modern Commemorative coins is a very enjoyable aspect of the hobby but please remember that most circulated versions will not be worth anymore than the face value, despite what you may read in the papers or see online! Proof coins however are a lot more desirable being produced in much lower quantities and of a much higher quality.

For hundreds of years the reigning monarch or their representative has distributed what we call Maundy coins, historically to the poor, or latterly to pensioners who have shown great service to the church and their local community. The special service takes place every Maundy Thursday (the day before Good Friday), historically in London, but during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, under her instruction, it would be held at different Cathedrals around the country returning to London every now and then. With the 2017 service being at Leicester cathedral every Anglican cathedral in England has now hosted the ceremony.

The word Maundy in Latin means “mandate” or “command” which is used in this context to reflect Jesus Christ’s instruction to his disciples at the Last Supper to love one another. After washing their feet, Jesus told them; “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.”  (John 13: 34-35). This command forms the opening lines of the Maundy ceremony.

The Maundy Thursday service can be traced back to the fourth century where recipients would have their feet washed and were presented with food and clothing. The Royal connection started in 1213 when King John attended in Rochester and by the Tudor age it had become a regular custom for the monarch to attend and the event became known as Royal Maundy. For most of that time the number of recipients would match the monarch’s age.  So for example, the last time that Queen Elizabeth presented the coins, which was in 2019 (2020 and 2021 events cancelled due to covid) when she was 93 years old, she distributed the small leather bags of coins to 93 different people. It was also decreed by Henry IV that the amount of money given to the poor should match the monarchs age and so when he was 40 for example, he would distribute 40 pence to 40 different people.

Despite the strong royal connection with the Maundy service, with the reigning monarch being present each year up until 1698, there are no records or reports of the monarch attending any of these ceremonies until 1932 when George V renewed the annual custom which we have become familiar with today.

Despite his short reign even Edward VIII managed to attend the 1936 Maundy service which became one of the few official duties that he carried out. The coins he presented though had the image of his father George V as new coins bearing the new King’s portrait had not been issued. 

Designs obviously changed over time with different monarchs although the reverse design that we still see today has been in use for 200 years. The numeral in an oak wreath design was first engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen who moved to London from Paris in 1815 after working at the Paris mint.

Interestingly, despite the fact that Queen Elizabeth II was on the throne for 70 years, and during that time our everyday coinage had seen 5 different portraits reflecting her changing appearance, the Maundy coins up until 2022 still retained the original image designed by Mary Gillick first seen in 1953.

The gift of money was always intended to be spent by the recipients and so coins given away before 1670 were just the standard coins that were in circulation at the time. After 1670 the coins were specially designed and produced in silver consisting of four coins, One Penny, Twopence, Threepence and Fourpence (or Groat), all dated with the relevant year of distribution. 

Since 1759 each recipient receives two bags. The first, a red leather bag contains £5.50 of circulating coins which is an allowance for food and clothing and the other, a white leather bag, contains the silver Maundy coins of varying quantities depending on the monarch’s age. 

The historical importance and relevance of silver coins dates back to the seventh century when silver started to be used in the production of our coinage. For the next 500 years the humble silver penny was pretty much the only coin produced in England. In an almost unbroken run to present day Maundy money has been minted in sterling silver (0.925 fineness), a strong acknowledgement to our past. One of the short periods of change came in the aftermath of World War I. The sheer cost to the world economies caused a strong rise in the price of silver and so the UK debased its silver currency to make it more affordable for the Government. All silver coins were reduced to 50% purity from 1920-1947 including Maundy money. After 1947 all silver coins were then replaced by silver-coloured cupro-nickel coins although due to the strong Royal connection it was felt inappropriate to strike the Maundy money in a cheap base metal and so the sterling silver coins were thankfully reinstated.

Due to the relatively small numbers of coins struck each year, Maundy money has always been in strong demand from collectors. Given the worldwide interest and royal connection recipients will often sell their coins to dealers creating a big market for these most sought after coins.