General News

The Token Publishing offices will close on Tuesday December 22 at 1.00pm and will then re-open on Monday January 5 at 9.00am May we wish all of our customers and clients a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year

The long awaited sister publication to Roy Dutton's excellent "Charge of the Light Brigade" is now available and priced at just £20 (plus p&p) We only have limited numbers and are shipping now for Christmas - don't miss out click here to buy yours!

The Britsol Old Vic is seeking help with the whereabouts of the silver tokens issued when the Theatre Royal Bristol was opened in 1766. The tokens were sold in May 1766 as a way of raising money to pay for the theatre that still stands on King Street in Bristol. Fifty of the tokens were made and...

Last night's sale by Ginza Coins of Tokyo saw a new record set for a British milled coin - with £360,000 being paid for a gold Gothic crown! The coin last sold in Tokyo back in the 90s and has trebled the price it made then. The Ginza Coin Auctions sale was actually in two parts - the second being...

We'll be at the Leeds show at the Cedar Court Hotel, Wakefield (just off Junction 39 of the M1) this Sunday - why not come along too? It's a great little show with coins, banknotes and medals on offer and it's well worth a visit - see you there!

Medals stolen from Marines based at Plymouth have now, thankfully, been recovered - see the full story here!

Are you coming to what will be the last Britannia medal show organised by Fred Walland and Jeannie Robinson? These stalwarts of the fair circuit have decided it's time to bow out and whilst we hope that Britannia may well live on with someone else (watch this space...) the show on November 23 will...

The stunning Elizabeth 1755 20 roubles that featured on Last month's COIN NEWS front cover sold for an incredible £1.55million! A new record for a non-US coin! This amount eclipses anything gone before and shows once again teh bouyancy in certain market sectors A full report will appear in...

The Coin News team (well half of it) will be at the Monthly Birmingham Coin Show this Sunday - we'll have some of our wide range of accessories with us but space dictates we can't bring everything - so if there's anything specific you want do let us know before hand! The show takes place from...

It's only a couple of days until the Winter London Coin Fair!. Held as ever at the very popular London Bloomsbury Holiday Inn Hotel off Russell Square the show continues to attract dozens of dealers and hundreds of collectors. For those of you who haven't visited it yet it's quite unlike most shows...

It's bad enough to know there are low-lifes out there who will steal medals from servicemen - when it's one of their own colleagues it makes it so much the worse. If you've bought any modern medals from eBay or similar recently you might want to check out the full story here

The Coin News team does its best to get to Eddy Smith's Wakefield show (held at the Cedar Court Hotel just off the M1) at least once or twice a year and we do like coming up in October. Unfortunately we can't make it this year - we'll do our best to be there in November though!

Lord Ashcroft is launching a new book in November. The country's most famous medal collector, whose trust owns more than 150 Victoria Crosses, has recently revealed that as well as the VC he also collects medals awarded to men (and presumably women) of the Special Forces. We don't know too much...

Once again the MEDAL YEARBOOK was launched at the OMRS convention - and it's already selling well. It's available to order now by visiting our on-line shop, calling 01404 4166 or by filling in the leaflet you'll find in this month's MEDAL NEWS!

Apparently the number of "fake" £1 coins in circulation has doubled in the past five years according to this report. If you're worried about fakes in your change there are some easy ways to tell if what you've got is genuine or not, as well as those mentioned in the report here are a few other...

Thankfully there's still some respect left for our veterans - how often do you hear of divers being mobilised for other losses in the Thames.....! See here for details

Yes it's coming soon - the MEDAL YEARBOOK 2009 will be with us on Wednesday September 24th ready to be posted out the followning day ready to land on collectors' mats in time for the big launch at the OMRS in London on Saturday 27th! there's still time to pre-order your copy.......

Don't worry - Medal News September is on its way, it was delayed slightly because we've been hard at work on the YEARBOOK but it will be with you soon - I promise!!

Anyone coming to OMSA? The Orders and Medals Society of America's annual convention is being held in Florida this year - Jacksonville to be precise. The convention takes place this Thursday - Sunday at the Hyatt Regency Waterfront hotel - if you're a n OMSA member you can come along any day - if...

In response to rampant inflation the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank have announced the introduction of a hundred BILLION dollar note - believed to be the highest denomination ever issued anywhere ever! It's a sad indictment on the country's regime when you realise just 7 months ago the world was agog at...

The DSO, DFC and Bar Group of Battle of Britain Ace Wing Commander H C Mayers sold for an astonishing £66.800 today at Spink. Myers was credited with shooting down eight enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain and was shot down himself four times, on the last occasion his plane was found,...

Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher of the Royal Marines has been awarded the George Cross for throwing himself on a grenade triggered by a booby trap in Helmund Province Afghanistan in February of this Year. Upon triggering the trap he immediately dropped to the ground and lay across the grenade...

Lord Ashcroft’s Victoria Cross collection - the largest in the world - is to go on public display following his £5 million donation to the Imperial War Museum The world’s largest collection of Victoria Crosses (VCs), belonging to the Michael A Ashcroft Trust, is to be displayed publicly for the...

Yes it's that time of year again and this weekend sees the second Coin Fair of 2008 at the Knavesmire Stand of York Racecourse The fair is on for two days and yes it is a weekend earlier than normal -it takes place from 11.00am on Friday 18 and from 10.00am on Saturday 19 and there are over 50...

Important new about the Ashcroft Collection of VCs coming soon - keep your eyes on this news page for details.....!

The latest edition of Krause's Standard Catalog of World Paper Money Volume III (Modern Issues 1961 -date) - the old "Pick" for those of you who can remember that far back - will be in stock in our warehouse within the next two days! So order your copy today This year it comes with a free DVD -...

The new edition of the acclaimed "Standard Catalog of World Coins 1901-2000" is on its way to these shores as I write! We're expecting them within the next 2-3 weeks so put your order in today! Rumour has it that this year's book comes with a free DVD - we're assuming it's a scanned version of...

Over a two year period various medal groups have been stolen from Victoria Barracks in Windsor. These medals HAVE been sold into the trade and many were bought by a dealer in good faith - he has since sold them on and the police are trying to trace them. The complete list is a long one but here...

There had been talk in some quarters that the long tradition of Scotland's banks producing their own banknotes was under threat. Apparently plans to force banks to lodge funds with the Bank of England to cover the value of their notes had put the production of banknotes from the Clydesdale Bank,...

It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Canadian Dealer Eugene Ursual who passed away this morning after a short battle with cancer. We've known Gene for many years and he will be sorely missed both as a friend and as a dealer - our condolences go out to his wife Tanya A full...

Apparently this hurt more than the injuries Pte Beharry sustained whilst winning his Victoria Cross..... We're not sure about that but we are sure this is some work of art and one thing's for sure - he won't lose it!

Straight after the London Coin Fair on Saturday the Token Team (well Phil to be precise) will be heading up to Birmingham NEC for the Coin, Medal and Banknote fair at the Motorcycle Museum on Sunday the 8th This is a regular show that attracts a loyal following every month, we can't always get...

The US Government has been told to change the much loved Greenbacks to enable the blind or partially sighted to recognise the different denominations more easily. For more information see the BBC's news site here

Unbelievably every single copy of the COIN YEARBOOK 2008 has sold out - that's nearly 10,000 copies sold in six months, and we're still getting order in! We were thinking of doing a reprint but logically were better off putting all of our efforts into ensuring the 2009 is better than ever - it...

Following the huge numbers of people attending Who do you think you are? at Olympia over the weekend we know that in the coming weeks there will be dozens of new entries added to medaltracker.com We must have chatted to well over 200 people regarding how they should find out what medals their...

Are you coming to Olympia this weekend? We're hoping 20,000+ people will be as it's the second WDYTYA Live exhibition - coupled this year with Military History live! The event was huge last year and we're all geared up for the same thing again on Friday through Sunday - so why not come along - you...

This Friday and Saturday (25 and 26) sees the return of the "Harrogate Show" held in the beautiful setting of the Garden Room at the Old Swan Hotel. With a number of big name dealers attending and Harrogate itself being such a pleasant Georgian Spa town there are far worse ways to wile away a...

The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate once again hosts what used to be COINEX North but is now, successfully, run by Simon Monks. The fair takes place on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 in the "Garden Room" of this wonderful old hotel and with many big-name dealers coming it will be well worth the trip. ...

It's here, it's ready to ship - the reprinted Kiwi Scorpions (the story of the New Zealanders in the Long Range Desert Group) is available now - it's been updated and amended and is only £29.95 - order your copy today!

Unbelievably the second WDYTYA show is almost upon us and takes place on May 2-4. Last year the show was aimed primarily at the Family history market however, jumping squarely on the military bandwagon, this year it is billed as "three shows in one" comprising "Military History Live", "Who do you...

There have been some interesting stories coming from the National media regarding our new coinage - the Daily Telegraph called a number of dealers (and us) the day of the launch in order to try and find someone prepared to put a negative spin on the whole thing and the BBC's on-line magazine has...

Don't forget the Aldershot Medal and Militaria fair this Sunday (April 20) at Prince's Hall, Prince's Way. All those of you who missed Britannia because of the Marathon really ought to come along to this fair - one of the most popular of Mark Carter's events! As ever preview is 9.30am and the main...

The story of the 1933 penny is well known - but Phil our Marketing Director finds out a few things even seasoned numismatists may not know. Listen to the programme at 2.45pm today straight after Gardener's Question time!

Phil our Marketing director is on Radio 4 tomorrow - talking about the 1933 penny! He's interviewing one or two people some of you may know as well..... 2.45pm Radio 4 - straight after Gardener's Question time

So they've been unveiled, the designs that will grace the reverses of British coinage in years to come. In a bold move on the part of the Royal Mint the new coins no longer depict a complete image on each one (with the exception of the £1 coin) but instead make up a "jigsaw puzzle" with the picture...

All circulating coins, with the exception of the £2 coin, will bear the new designs. A different detail from the shield of the Royal Arms is shown on the reverse of the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins and when placed together the coins reveal the complete shield. This is the first time that a...

Twenty pence coin depicting the middle right-hand section of the shield.

Fifty pence coin showing the bottom of the shield. Note that the coin is actually upside down, with the point of the heptagon now at the bottom.

Ten pence coin showing two of the three lions of England.

Five pence coin--- the very centre of the shield.

Two pence coin depicting the Scottish lion Rampant.

One penny coin, the very top of the Irish harp.

One pound coin: "the jigsaw box lid". The picture is complete.

New 2008 reverse British coin designs, congratulations to Matthew Dent of London (pictured). On this day, the 2nd April 2008, 10:30 am precisely, the world (yes, I believe this story will be covered by the international press) will have the opportunity to see the winning reverse designs for the...

At 10.30 this morning the new designs for Britain's circulating coinage will be unveiled - COIN NEWS will be at the official launch of the coins taking place at the Tower of London and we aim to have the images on this website ASAP - look out after half ten!

Britain's new coin designs are launched tomorrow! See them here first - we'll have images up on this site within minutes of them being unveiled - check back here after 10.30am tomorrow! And no this is no April fool......

Watch out on Wednesday when COIN NEWS will bring you an exclusive interview with the designer of Britain's NEW circulating coinage - read all about it here at 10.31am on April 2!

It's official the new designs for Britain's circulating coinage will be unveiled on Wednesday April 2 at 10.30am. Coin News will be there and we aim to have the images up on our website almost immediately so watch this space!!!!

The Token team is gearing up for next weekend's International Paper Money Fair in Valkenberg, the picturesque market town in the south of the Netherlands. What was once the "Maastricht" show is hugely popular and attracts dealers and collectors from across the globe. The main event takes place on...

At last we've been told of the date that the new UK coin designs will be launched! We can't divulge it just yet but have been given the following statement from the Royal Mint The Royal Mint is very excited by the new designs and we are looking forward to launching them in Spring 2008. The new...

Yes it's at the printers now - the long awaited return of the revised Kiwi Scorpions Don't miss out pre-order your copy today from our on-line store!

We've located a supplier of Army and Navy lists on CD Rom and DVD and we've ordered a number for the more "significant" years. We're offering them through the pages of MEDAL NEWS and in our on-line shop now -so if you've always wanted an Army list from the Crimea or one of the huge ones from the...

Those of you in Devon will be able to hear Token's own Radio "Star" every fortnight when Phil is on the Richard Green afternoon show talking coins, medals, banknotes et al - he's already done two shows and his next appearance is on Monday March 10 at 3.45pm then every second Monday after that until...

Don't forget Mark Carter's Stratford Upon Avon Show on Sunday March 16! Stratford is one of our favourite towns and with a good base of collectors in the area it is always worthwhile us going - and the other dealers seem to think the same - there's always a waiting list for tables The show is...

our website soon and we'd like your opinions on what you want to see featured on it. Maybe you'd like to see more products for sale, more links to dealers and auctioneers or more articles/features. Perhaps you'd like to see more information - hints and tips on collecting etc or maybe you'd like...

Join the Token team at this Saturday's London Coin Fair at the Holiday Inn, Coram Street, Bloomsbury! the event is well attended by dozens of dealers and there really is something for everyone - especially as Baldwin's hold their Argentum sale in the same venue in the afternoon! We never miss...

Spink, in association with the Ashcroft V.C. Trust has just announced that they will be hosting an exhibition of fifty Victoria Crosses from the most important collection of these Awards ever formed. Britain’s largest display of the world’s highest and most prestigious Decoration for Gallantry for...

At the Holiday Inn Bloomsbury - we'll be there - hope you will too!