Royalty
Happy Birthday Prince George
Today His Royal Highness, Prince George, celebrates his fifth birthday.
The British public and people from all corners of the globe have watched fascinated as young Prince George has grown from baby to boy; enamoured by photos of his first steps, his first day at nursery and when he started primary school.
To mark his fifth birthday this exclusive 24ct gold-plated five coin set has been released, which looks back on our future King’s first five years.
The first coin in the set shows the precise moment the whole world fell in love with our prince. When his beaming parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, introduced their new born son to the world outside of St Mary’s Hospital in London.
The next coin shows George during his first public engagement as part of the royal families tour of New Zealand and Australia in 2014. However, unlike his parents, his role was much more relaxed – it didn’t include ribbon cutting or speech making, instead just a simple play date.
During the same royal tour, Prince George visited Taronga Zoo in Sydney, where he was introduced to one of the zoos bilbies, a desert-dwelling marsupial, which had been named after the Prince. A moment that’s been captured on this coin.
Next up is a coin that shows a considerably older Prince George, during the Cambridge families week long Royal Tour of Canada in 2016. The hugely popular photo of Prince George shows him absolutely mesmerised by bubbles at a children’s party, which boasted a petting zoo, balloon modellers and a puppet show. However, shortly after this shot was taken, our Prince was publicly upstaged by his younger sister, Princess Charlotte, who spoke her first word in public, ‘pop’.
Finally, the coin that completes the set shows Prince George adorably practicing that all important royal wave, aged just three, at the end of his Royal tour of Canada in 2016.
This brand new coin set looks back fondly and perfectly captures the first five years of our future King’s action-packed life – and it’s sure to be extremely sought after by collectors in years to come too.
If you’re interested:
You can secure the Exclusive HRH Prince George of Cambridge’s 5th Birthday Coin set today. But when you consider the very low edition limit and high demand for commemoratives celebrating the fifth birthday of our future King, a full sell-out is expected, so don’t delay. Click here to find out more>>
Could you be hiding a small fortune in the attic?
I am sure we have all dreamt of stumbling across a dusty old stamp collection or long forgotten silver coin secretly worth a small fortune hiding somewhere in the house.
Unfortunately I am yet to stumble across my fortune in the attic, but this dream recently came true for a grandmother from Hull when she found a 1644 Oxford Crown in her late grandfather’s coin collection.
The reverse of the Silver-plated Charles I Oxford Replica coin, depicts Charles I on horseback with the City of Oxford in the background.
While clearing out her attic she found a shoebox of coins she had inherited from her grandfather decades ago. She initially offered the collection to her children, who rejected what they saw as ‘worthless junk’.
She then considered binning her collection of relics, before making the decision to have the coins valued along with a number of other family heirlooms.
That’s when she discovered that amongst her collection was the incredibly rare 1644 Charles I Oxford Silver Crown. This coin was struck for just one year and is considered by many numismatic experts to be one of the most beautiful British coins ever produced.
Struck in 1644, this crown was minted while the country was in the midst of a Civil War. The coin features a portrait of King Charles I on horseback placed against a fantastic rendition of the City of Oxford which was his headquarters during the English Civil War.
King Charles I. Monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland from March 1625 until his execution in January 1649.
It is no wonder that this coin is so highly valued. It is incredibly rare, the design is one of the most intricate ever struck on a British coin and it marks one of the most significant moments in our nation’s history – the English Civil War.
The historic coin is expected to reach in excess of £100,000 at auction and the owner plans to use the money to help her granddaughter, currently expecting her first child, to fund a house deposit.
I think it’s time for me to have another dig around in the attic!
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If you’re interested…
For those not planning on bidding in the auction for this exceptionally rare coin, we have a limited stock of just 36 Silver-plated replicas available of the beautiful 1644 Oxford Crown. Click here to find out more >>>
The life and reign of Queen Victoria told through her coins…
One of the things I find most interesting when collecting historic coins is the insight they give into the time they were struck and of the monarch who issued them.
A particular reign that has always fascinated collectors is that of Queen Victoria. During Victoria’s long reign only three major obverse portraits adorned her coins and they come together to chart the life and reign of one of Britain’s most popular monarchs.
The Young Head
The first effigy to feature on Queen Victoria’s coinage is known as the ‘Young Head’ portrait. This early portrait shows Victoria at the tender age of just 18, when she acceded to the throne.
The public in the early 19th century would not have been aware that the youthful Victoria depicted on their coins would soon become the leader of the largest Empire the world had ever seen and would reign longer than any British monarch before her.
The ‘Young Head’ portrait was extremely popular with the general public and remained on Victoria’s coins with only minor alterations for the majority of her reign.
The Jubilee Head
After 60 years however, it was decided that a new portrait was necessary to reflect Victoria as the elder stateswoman she had become. Victoria’s Golden Jubilee marked the occasion for a design change and Joseph Edgar Boehm was chosen to design a portrait for the 78 year old Queen.
However, Boehm’s portrait failed to gain the public’s admiration in the way its predecessor had. The portrait was met with ridicule by the general public who found the small crown balanced precariously on her head as unrealistic and almost comical.
The Veiled Head
The ‘Jubilee’ portrait was quickly replaced in 1893 after only six years, with what was to be the final obverse used on Victoria’s coinage. This new effigy was designed by Thomas Brock and shows a mature bust of the Queen with a veil representing her long period of mourning after the death of her husband Prince Albert.
Victoria was deeply attached to her husband and she sank into depression after his death. For the rest of her reign she wore black and the final portrait of the highly respected Queen represents this secluded period of mourning that came towards the end of her life.
Together, these coin portraits tell the story of Queen Victoria, with each marking an important period from her long reign. All of these coins are now over 100 years old and for me they epitomise Victorian coin collecting.
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If you’re interested…
Today, just a handful of collectors have the opportunity to own each of these key portraits in the official Queen Victoria Half Crown Set.
However, these historic coins are very difficult to source and we only have a limited number available.
Click here for more details >>