News & Blog

Stolen in a burglary in Geddington near Kettering, Northants on the weekend of February 8/9: IGS 95 ( Relief of Chitral 1895 ) /QSA ( Cape Colony, Wittebergen, Transvaal ) /KSA ( 1901, 1902 ) /1914 trio to Joseph Rich Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire Regiments (later Labour Corps)  WWI Pair...

Hot on the heels of the Brexit 50p, and the music legends Queen 50p, come the latest designs to grace the curved heptagon - the Dinosauria Collection - the first time a dinosaur has featured on an official UK coin.  The Dinosauria Collection is a new series celebrating Britain’s contribution to...

Before they fade THIS month’s “News and Views” features notices that two more veterans of World War II have passed away—the last known member of the Glider Pilot Regiment, Ralph Norbury, and one of the last of the “Few”, the pilots of the Battle of Britain—Maurice Moundson. That these gentlemen...

The February issue of MEDAL NEWS contains a short obituary of Battle of Britain pilot Flt Lt Maurice Mounsdon who passed away in December. The piece states that there are now only three surviving members of "the Few" left but sadly we learn today of the death of Wing Commander Paul Farnes DFM AE...

As you can't have failed to notice, one of the most controversial coins of the decimal era goes into circulation on January 31. The design of the so-called "Brexit 50p", minted to mark the UK leaving the European Union, was unveiled last year but, of course, the date has had to be changed...

The Token Team is once again looking forward to attending the Irish International Coin and Medal fair (now called the Irish Collectors Fair) to be held at the Royal Dublin Society, Ballsbridge, Dublin on the weekend of February 22-23. We love it in the city and are thoroughly looking forward to...

Defining boundaries AS IS our habit we are once again dedicating the February front cover of COIN NEWS to the Chinese Lunar New Year coins that already abound. This year, as Dr Kerry Rodgers so eloquently points out in his article (pages 39–41) is the Year of the Rat (or more precisely the year...

Treasured possessions THE recent court case surrounding the metal detectorists who discovered a Viking hoard of coins and jewellery in Herefordshire in 2015, has attracted a great deal of attention and debate in recent weeks. We discussed details of the hoard back in July and John Andrew’s...

We must remember them too BACK in the summer it was announced that there was to be a new “Office for Veterans’ Affairs” launched to provide lifelong support to military personnel. That launch officially took place on October 16 when it was also announced that the new head of the OVA will be...

What a year DECEMBER is always a good time to take stock of the year, whether that’s personally, professionally or numismatically. What, I wonder, have been your highlights of 2019? Have you added much to your collection? Have you perhaps disposed of some of it and rationalised a little? Have...

Fading away IT hardly seems credible that it was a year ago that I was writing about some silly students who were campaigning to ensure that Cambridge University Student’s Union didn’t promote Remembrance Day commemorations as such things “glorified war” (see “Editor’s Comment”, November 2018...

The Famous Who? THE RECENT announcement that a coin celebrating the life and work of our childhood favourite, Enid Blyton, was vetoed for fear of a social media backlash seems to have attracted a reasonable amount of media attention, but why? The decision, which was actually taken in 2016 and...

Well what do you know? MEDAL collecting is different from coin collecting in one very important way. Whilst the subjects of both hobbies are (generally) little circular metal disks, often made at the same place, there is one crucial difference. A coin is collected, is appreciated for itself,...

Stolen in a burglary at Haverhill, Suffolk earlier this year Family group stolen in a burglary earlier this year. 1) Basil Oliver Bradley, RA: 1939-1945 star, Africa Star, Burma Star, Defence & War, Territorial Efficiency, Police long service and the Dunkirk medal. 2) 1343 (later...

Two types of people THE recent unveiling of the Chew Valley Hoard of Norman Conquest era pennies at the British Museum seems to have caught the imagination of the public, or at least the press (see our own story on pages 38–40). Most newspapers, serious news websites and news programmes have...

OMSA and the numbers game I MUST CONFESS, I was wrong. Last month I said that I could probably list all the attendees at the forthcoming OMSA Convention were I to put my mind to it. Having just finished at the event I can confirm that whilst many of those in attendance were familiar faces and...

Stolen during a burglary in Hertfordshire recently:   Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers’ Renter Warden’s Badge Inscribed on reverse ‘ ‘Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers’ and ‘Renter Warden’ on a shield Waterloo medal issued to John Hamilton of the First Regiment...

The face of the future THE news that Alan Turing is to be the face on the new £50 probably didn’t come as much of a surprise to many. Yes, here at COIN NEWS, we quite liked the idea of Mary Anning featuring alongside a stegosaurus or two but Turing is a worthy choice. There was the inevitable...