General News

For God, Queen and Colony - by Terry Sole The muster rolls and histories of the Colonial Units in the Zulu War of 1879 - this is one book all you Zulu War enthusiasts won't want to be without! Watch this space for further details!    

Apologies for the delay in getting this title out - we only received them in the office on December 23! All UK order have been processed and sent out via first class mail. We can't guarantee Christmas delivery anymore I'm afraid and would like to apologise to all those who were hoping to get the...

Lost at Bordeaux, France  on Friday December 10, 2010, following the  Operation " Frankton "       Commemoration Parade, - (canoe raid on Bordeaux harbour, December 1942.) group of medals Court Mounted as follows :-     1.   OBE   un-named.   2.  ...

The medal roll for the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service Long Service Medal has recently been made available at The National Archives at Kew.   The roll consists of a large sea green book containing the names of all those men and women who qualified for the medal and any appropriate bar(s),...

Yes it's almost upon us once again and, whilst we'd like to be open over Christmas we do feel it only fair to give our staff the odd day off. So we'll be closing at 1.00pm on Thursday December 23 and reopening again at 9.00am on January 4 2011. We'd like to wish all of our customers a very Merry...

WO Karl Ley has made safe more Improvised Explosive Devices IEDs in Afghanistan than anyone else - some 139 to date - losing seven of his comrades in the process. Today (December 17 2010) his courage and heroism was honoured with the award of the George Medal, presented by HRH Prince Charles. For...

Sorry if you're waiting for COINS OF ENGLAND- Spink won't release them to us yet  they want to be first off the blocks- we should have them sometime next week!

We're doing our best to get everything out before Christmas but please do get your orders in ASAP - by Monday 20 at the latest to ensure delivery by Christmas Eve and even that's pushing it a bit!   And don't worry if you haven't had your orders already placed yet - the terrible weather...

Unfortunately details of the forthcoming sale at ST JAMES'S AUCTIONS were ommitted from their recent advert so just to make sure no -one forgets here's a little reminder! Auction 16 takes place on DECEMBER 7, 2010 it starts at 10.00 am and will include: A ncient, British hammered &...

Former para, Simon Rogers, has been gaoled for three years after stealing campaign medals, including those awarded for service in Iraq and Afghanistan, from fellow Soldiers staioned in Colchester then selling them on eBay. See the BBC's Website for further details

The BRAND NEW book by Michael Maton - Honour those Mentioned the Air Forces being a complete list of all Mentions in Despatch awards to the Royal and Dominion Air Forces during World War II is being launched at Britannia this Sunday (November 21) and is available to pre-order now!   Those of...

Britannia is almost on us - it's THIS SUNDAY Entry is ABSOLUTELY FREE and all the major dealers and Auction House will be there The full list is as follows: ARL Collectables Baldwin's Bonhams Andrew Bostock Ray Brough Phil Burman John Cannon Mark Carter Chelsea Military Antiques DNW...

I've just been lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the wonderful Ashcroft Gallery at the IWM and there is little I can say except "wow"! Over 200 Victoria and George Crosses on display along with associated ephemera (Jonson Beharry's battered helmet, Matt Croucher's shredded backpack). This is...

The last London Coin Fair of the year takes place at the Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury on November 6 and, as ever, there will be plenty of dealers on hand to cater for your every numismatic whim. The Token team will be there too - complete with the new "General issues" Krause banknote book, the brand...

Buried treasure hoards aren't that unusual in the UK - they come up from time to time as the wonderful Frome hoard shows - but usually they are comprised of Celtic or Roman coins or similar - so it was quite a shock for a couple of gardeners in Hackney of all places to come across 80 American...

The magnificent Frome Hoard of over 52,000 coins discovered in April of this year (see COIN NEWS September 2010) has been valued at the interesting sum of £320,250 that's £6.10 a coin...! For more details see the BBC website here

The biggest coin programme in the UK since decimalisation took another step forward today with the release of the 29 designs that members of the public will be able to look out for in their change over the next 18 months. Comprising a vast array of different Olympic and Paralympic sports the...

Stolen from a private house in Basildon recently - family medals to Fletcher WW1, B.E.M, I.S.M to 184212 ALBERT FLETCHER 1939-45 STAR, AFRICA STAR,  DEFENCE & WAR,  RNR LSGC and Bar to RNRC/JX 343570 R.A. FLETCHER.N RNR LSGC & QUEEN'S SILVER JUBILEE (ENGRAVED) to D111440V A.G.FLETCHER RN ...

Yes it's almost time for the penultimate "Yate" of the year (the last one is on November 28) and Phil will be there on Sunday October 3rd at the Leisure centre in Yate to once again represent the "Token Team"  The fair starts at 9.30am (for "early preview"; 10.30am for "normal" opening) - which...

It's our last trip to Yorkshire this weekend when we'll be attending Eddie Smith's Leeds(Wakefield) show at the Cedar Court Hotel just off the M1 - we wont have the new COIN YEARBOOK with us (it's out next week but you can pre-order it at this show post free) however we will have stocks of the new...

Some 131 Men and women have been honoured for their service in Afghanistan with no fewer than five Conspicuous Gallantry Crosses and 18 Military Crosses awarded. There was also a George Medal awarded to Acting Warrant Officer Class 2 Karl John Fairfax LEY, The Royal Logistic Corps for neutralising...

A fundraising day is being held at the Air Training Corps, Raf Enclave., Main Road Biggin Hill on Saturday September 18. The event, which will include WWII Vehicles, living history displays, a flight simulator and militaria/collectables stalls, all against a backdrop of 1940s music, goes on from...

For those of you on that side of the "pond" unable to make it over to this side for the OMRS or Coinex there's always the next Jeffrey Hoare Numismatic and Militaria Sale taking Place on September 18 and 19 at the Ramada Inn 817 Exeter Road, London, Ontario. The sale is something of a...

Collectors of post-war art medals will be spoiled for choice with Simmons Gallery's next postal auction. The superb on-line catalogue features medals from all over the world including Britain, France and Germany. Closing date for bids is September 21 and further details are available at...

Gavin John Miller and Dean Seaward are the latest civilian recipients of the Queen’s Gallantry Medal. Miller received the award for rescuing a fire fighting colleague from a burning building on November 1, 2003. While attending a fire at an hotel, a fireman fell through the roof of the storeroom...

It seems it isn't only us Brits who are nervous of change when it comes to our currency - every time a new coin or note issued the papers are full of complaints, full of those saying we ought to leave things as they are and full of people harking back to the good old days. That's as may be but to...

Those with an interest in such things will know that our "copper" coinage hasn't been that for some years - the decimal 1p and 2p pieces were in fact bronze but that changed in 1992 when they started being minted in steel coated in copper. Now the composition of the 5p and 10p piece is changing...

According to the MOD website many more Iraq and Afghanistan medals are about to be awarded.... The reason is a change to the qualifying criteria - formerly 30 days continuous service this has now been changed to 45 days aggregate service. These changes will be backdated to the start of each...

No not the odds of your number coming up in Roulette but rather the estimated number of £1 coins in circulation according to the Telegraph today (July 27). I've always been sceptical of such numbers - after all they are compiled by people who actually monitor £1 coins - and a lot of those are...

AT last we have the BRAND NEW 20th Century Krause Catalog of World Coins in stock - those of you who know the Krause works will know how invaluable they are and this one is no exception - order your copy today! Just visit our on-line shop for details

We'll be going to press with the MEDAL YEARBOOK 2011 in August - ready for publication on September 19 2010. If you have any corrections or amendments do please let us know - you can email me on phil@tokenpublishing.com

We took the "Medal Match" feature out of MEDAL NEWS as very few entries were coming in for it  - since we did we have had lots of people ask when it's coming back....! We're not sure what to do now so it's over to you - do you want it back? Do you have some lonely singles you want to get rid of?...

According to news reports security printers De La Rue, who print banknotes for over 150 countries (including England), have suspended production amidst fears that sub-standard paper has been used. The company has so far refused to confirm whether or not notes using the paper, which "failed to meet...

The Medals of Canada's most decorated military Chaplain, Frederick Scott, have sold for CAN$28,000 at the Ontario Salerooms of Jeffrey Hoare Auctions Inc. The group of ten, which included the CMG, DSO and the Royal Canadian Humane Association Sanford medal, were purchased by the Canadian War...

The Editor's "Comment" is one of those features that always seems to stimulate debate - many of you are kind enough to tell us how much you like it, others are kind enough to tell us why you don't - and we value both lots of input believe me. Invariably the subject of the Editor's "Comment" will...

Lovely to see so many people at the York Coin Show this past weekend - the Friday was absolutely heaving and whilst Saturday was, inevitably, slower it was still an enjoyable weekend! The next show at the Racecourse isn't until January but we're hoping to get up to Eddie Smith's Leeds show before...

I hope you haven't forgotten that this weekend sees the second of the year's Coin and Medal shows at the Knavesmire Stand of York Racecourse. As always there will be a plethora of dealers offering just about everything a collector could want. And yes the Token Team will be there too! The fair...

Although we're officially launching the Catalogue this weekend at York, Roger Outing's fantastic new catalogue is available now! Listing as many provincial notes as have ever come on the market this incredible new work is guaranteed to become THE reference work on this fascinating subject. There...

"Lost" in the postal system between East Anglia & Western France -  1914-15 Trio to Sgt 315783 D. Mc PHERSON. Scottish Horse/Royal Highlanders. Any information or sightings to; Ron Withers on,ronjudy@free.fr  or Philip Burman on,01553 840350   Thanks everyone!

News is coming in of the discovery of a hoard of more than 52,000 Roman Coins. The hoard, discovered after a single coin was found and reported by a metal detectorist in Frome, Somerset was first unearthed in April but details are only just emerging now. It is thought that rather than being a...

The family of the last Soldier to be killed by the IRA during the Troubles in Northern Ireland have been awarded the Elizabeth Cross. Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick was killed by an IRA sniper at a checkpoint in Bessbrook, Co Armagh, on February 12, 1997 and in recognition of that sacrifice...

According to the Washington Post the Pentagon has recommended that the Medal of Honor - the US Military's highest Award - be given to a living recipient for the first time since the Vietnam conflict. The Soldier, fighting in the notorious Korengal Valley in Afghanistan apparently ran through a...

With the phasing out of the "Elgar" note we now have the situation that the £50, £10 and £5 are from one "series" with the £20 from the next - which must mean that somewhere in the corridors of the Bank of England there is someone whose job it is to draw up a shortlist of those figures who will,...

Stolen from a house in Exeter three generations of family medals - a WWII framed group comprising  the 39-45 star, Africa Star, Italy Star and War Medal. They were awarded to 14307011 Cpl R Harvey of the Royal Engineers and a named plaque features in the frame.  A framed WWI Trio named to 12642...

June 30 was the last day you could officially use the Elgar £20 - it was withdrawn from this date and is now fully replaced by the Adam Smith £20 note issued first in 2007. Personally I feel the loss of one of England's Greats, replaced by a Scot whom few outside the world of Economics had ever...

According to press reports the Victoria Cross of L/Sgt Thomas Neely VC MM of the King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regt.) was stolen, along with the MM and his campaign medals, from the Cheshire home of his Great-Nephew Phil Jones on Sunday (June 27). Apparently Mr Jones had only had the Cross for a...

The World's Largest coin - the100 Kilo half metre wide gold CAN$1Million Maple leaf has sold for US$ 4Million at the Dorotheum Auction House in Austria. Admittedly the price of gold has had much to do with the phenomenal price but you have to ask yourself will this ever actually be melted down for...

Yes it's going to be a glorious weekend, yes England face the "Old enemy" Germany in the World Cup on Sunday afternoon but no that does not mean we're going to miss Mark Carter's Stratford Fair at the leisure centre.... It starts at 9.30am (for the preview - all that means is a slightly higher...

The World's largest coin the 100kg, half metre wide $1,000,000 Canadian Maple Leaf coin will go on sale at Auction on June 25th . The coin will be sold by Vienna's Dorotheum Auction house and is expected to fetch in excess of $4,000, 000 - we'll keep you posted. For full details see the BBC ...

A year after a controversial auction that saw the Canadian War Museum spending nearly CAN$300,000 to ensure an historic VC did not leave the country the institute has managed to acquire two more crosses - but for somewhat less. The Somme VC of Cpl. Leo Clarke and teh Italain Campaign VC of Lt John...

The BRAND NEW Standard Catalog of World Coins 1901-2000 will be available very, very soon - to pre-order your copy visit our online shop or call 01404 44166

According to an American on-line newspaper, the Daily Reckoning, we in Britain have lost a fair few coins since the 1960s. I accept that we now mourn the loss of the farthing, the ha'penny and the threpenny bit but I am amazed that we have also said goodbye to the penny and the two pence - that...

Yes it may be beautiful weather out there, yes we're in Devon and most people are heading west, i.e. our way away from the Capital but not us - no the Token Team is heading East this weekend to attend the second London Coin Fair of the Year, and the second under the auspices of Mike and Lu...

Medals awarded for bravery on Afghanistan's front line have been award by Her Majesty the Queen in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Among those receiving awards was Rifleman Paul Jacobs who was blinded by a Taliban bomb. He received the George Medal for continuing to protect his colleagues despite...

Since I started with Token back in 1996 I don't think there has been a single month where I haven't been attending one show or another somewhere in the country - or indeed the world - but May 2010 sees the Token Team staying put for once! That's right we aren't doing a single fair anywhere this...

Apparently 90% of 500 Euro notes used in this country (The UK)are used by money launderers - that's according to the BBC who tell us that now Exchange bureaux will no longer be selling the notes over here. I have to be honest and say that whilst I don't necessarily agree that such a high...

The advert for TRM  Military Auctions in the May issue of MEDAL NEWS erroneously gives their next sale dates as June 24 and 25 (it wasn't our fault - honest guvnor...). The sale actually takes place the week before on June 17 and 18. Don't say we didn't warn you - and don't miss out, they've got...

The two VC groups that Spink had on display at the last Britannia have just sold for no less than £210,000 (hammer £252,000 including premium) EACH! The first - to Major John Knox of the Rifle Brigade was a very early award being for Valour in action during the Crimean War 1854/55. It was sold...

Are you coming to Yate this Sunday? As ever the Token team will be at Mark Carter's Medal Fair at the Leisure Centre Yate on Sunday (April 25th) - 9.30am start for "preview" 10.30am for the "normal opening" (but you wouldn't want that now would you - you might miss something). Yes we know that...

According to the Payments Council (who? Is this where our Tax goes?) within five years coins and notes will make up less than 50% of transactions. To be honest I'm surprised it isn't lower than that already (see COIN NEWS May...) but the BBC think it's worth a mention, they've even done a quiz-...

Don't forget Mark Carter's Aldershot show this Sunday (April 18th) at the Prince's Hall, Prince's Way, Aldershot. We try to get to at least one a year and this weekend we're heading up the A303 and M3 to Hampshire to attend. As with all of Mark's fairs a good selection of medals and militaria is...

18 year old Private Alex Kennedy of the 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment has been hailed as the youngest recipient of the Military Cross since World War II. The Full story can be found here . However no mention is made of young recipients of the Military Medal - we're sure that there must...

For some bizarre reason the Americans like to launch their "annual" price guide some 8 months before the year on the front cover (and we thought we were bad with our Yearbooks launched in September!) which means the 2011 (yes 2011) edition is out now! We have got stocks of both the usual...

Captain Wayne Owers, who has diffused a record 93 bombs in Afghanistan and has been awarded the QGM says that he only has only survived through "sheer luck" for the full Story see the Telegraph website here

If you were one of teh hundreds who turned up for the Britanna Show on Sunday March 21st we'd like to extend our thanks for helping to make the show another great success. The dealers all seemed happy, the collectors all seemed happy and the Token Team - well we were happy to - if a little...

Don't forget the Harrogate show -taking place on Friday 26 - Saturday 27 March at the Old Swan Hotel in the beautiful Yorkshire Spa town of Harrogate. The Token Team (well Phil anyway) are driving all the way up from Devon and we'll be launching our latest book - The East India Company and it's...

We knew that there might be one coming but apparently two George Crosses are to be awarded for Gallantry in Afghanistan - both to bomb disposal experts. A Postumous award goes, as expected, to Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid who was killed in October 2009 whilst the other award is being made to Staff...

We've just added Andrew Litherland and "Scotmint" to the list of dealer's who are "stalling out" at Britanni athis Sunday - not sure where we'll put them but I'm sure they can go somewhere.   Don't forget - Victory Services Club, this Sunday (March 21st) 9.30am - 2.00pm - don't miss out! 

Don't forget the first Stratford show of the year - it's on tomorrow at the Leisure centre in Stratford (in the town centre) and is always a good event - as always we'll be there - hope you will too! 9.30 am for preview 10.30 am for the "standard" entry

According to news reports a new medal honouring "ordinary Britons" who helped save Jews from the Holocaust has been presented to two men (with 26 posthumous awards) by Gordon Brown. We'll try to find more about this story in the next few days - in the mean time the BBC report can be found here ...

It has recently been announced that Canada will be the latest nation to introduce the harder wearing polymer notes into circulation. Anyone who has ever holidayed in Australia will be familiar with these almost indestructible notes which last far longer than their "paper" (actually cotton)...

It was, of course, inevitable - the Elgar £20 note first introduced in 1999 is to be withdrawn from circulation on June 30 2010. After that date it will cease to have "legal tender" status meaning there will be no obligation on the part of retailers to accept is as payment. Old notes will, of...

The story of the Ludlow woman who took a "coin" into her local museum, was told it was of historical significance and that she should hand it in but didn't - incurring the wrath of the Coroner and a subsequent criminal record has split the numismatic world.   Were the authorities just being...

Timeline Auctions very first catalogue has arrived on the Editor's desk and very impressive it is too! This beautifully put together catalogue for their coins and antiquities sale on March 19 arrived too late for inclusion in the March issue of Coin News but it warrants a mention here. For...

Jeresy's banknotes are being given a radical new make over - the first re-design in 21 years!   For the full story see here

The recent "dateless" 20p showed that even an institution as rigid about standards as the Royal Mint can get things wrong - but it's doubtful that they, or indeed most national Mints would make the mistake discovered in Chile recently - somehow they actually managed to get the name of their...

The next Olympic 50p design has been unveiled - depicting "Cycling" as the sport the coin was designed by 16 Year Old Theo Crutchley-Mack from Halifax. There's still no news as to the exact date of the launch of this new programme nor how many of each coin will be issued but we will keep you...

A "bomb sniffer" dog working in Afghanistan is to be honoured with the "animals" VC - the Dickin Medal. Princess Alexandra will award black Labrador Treo the Dickin Medal at the Imperial War Museum,making him the 63rd animal to have won the award since its institution in 1943 and thr 26th...

Yes after seemingly months of waiting the BRAND NEW Standard Catalog of World Coins 1801-1900 is now available. We have them in stock NOW so order yours today - click here for details

A stamp celebrating the first black man and one of teh first Canadians to win the Victoria Cross goes on sale on Monday February 1 2010 across Canada. The Stamp, featuring William Hall who won his V.C. Serving with the Royal Navy at Lucknow during the mutiny, will officially be launched at HMCS...

The latest Volume in Alan Stuart Excellent Silver War Badge Series is available from Token Publishing now! These books are a must have for any World War I Collector listing as they do the complete roll for the War (Wound) badge both by badge number and by surname - was your medal recipient...

The "soldier" who caused outrage at an Armistice Day parade in Warwickshire has admitted to "unlawfully using military decoration". The full story can be found here

According to a Krause press release today "Ten outstanding 2008-dated coins have been honored with Coin of the Year Awards by World Coin News magazine." An international panel of judges selected the winners from hundreds of nominated coins during a final round of balloting that concluded in...

Apologies to anyone waiting for Token Publishing book/accessory orders - the snow has meant that key members of staff (me for example :) ) haven't been able to make it into work so there is a small backlog of orders waiting for despatch. We will get onto it as soon as we can!