Worldwide Mints struggle to meet collector demand for Queen Elizabeth II coins
Demand for Queen Elizabeth II coins has been felt at Mints around the world, following the sad news of her passing on 8th September.
Collectors heading to The Royal Mint and The Royal Australian Mint websites have been faced with long queues.
Coins issued within this year, particularly those issued in recent weeks, were in high demand.
The Royal Mint’s website indicated high interest in royalty themed coins – most notably, coins issued to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s varying Jubilees.
Just one of the many coins awaiting stock was the 1977 Elizabeth II Crown, issued to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.
The 2022 UK Annual Coin Set, featuring both Platinum Jubilee 50p and £5 coins, is currently unavailable at The Royal Mint. However, these coins are fetching around £170 on the secondary market sites.
As The Royal Mint works hard to meet demand for Queen Elizabeth II coinage, secondary market sites have also been bombarded with new listings.
How much is my Queen Elizabeth II coin worth?
Both the Platinum Jubilee 50p and £5 coins have been fetching well over their original retail prices.
Despite still being available at the The Royal Mint for £10 (+p&p), the 2022 UK Platinum Jubilee £5 coin recently sold for £40 on eBay.co.uk.
There’s no doubt demand for collectables celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s remarkable 70 year reign will continue to surge as the nation welcomes a new monarch – his majesty King Charles III.
Whether you want to hold onto your Queen Elizabeth II coins, or look to sell them, there has never been a more prominent time to check your collections.
Which Queen Elizabeth II coins do you have in your collection? Will you hold onto them? Let us know in the comments below.
Queen Elizabeth II In Memoriam Range
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926 – 2022) – a Life in Coins
The crown jewels, the palaces, the ceremonial role… Many things represent the role of the monarchy. But nothing has made Queen Elizabeth II more familiar to her subjects than coins.
There are 29 billion individual coins in circulation in the UK. In shops, in banks, and in our pockets… each carrying an image of Her Majesty that will forever be etched in our memories and will live on for years to come in our coinage.
Simply no other element of daily life has done more to link us with our beloved Queen and now we look back on her reign through those very coins.
70 Years – 5 iconic portraits
The Young Queen | 1953 – 67: Mary Gillick
The first coins of Queen Elizabeth’s reign bore Mary Gillick’s portrait of the young Queen, engraved especially for the new coins. The uncrowned portrait of the Queen is still used on the Maundy Money distributed each year by Her Majesty.
The “Decimal Queen” | 1968 – 84: Arnold Machin RA
With the upcoming decimalisation, it was decided to refresh the Queen’s portrait with Arnold Machin’s new sculpture of the Queen. Commissioned in 1964, it first appeared in 1968 on the new 5p and 10p coins. A version of the design with tiara was also introduced on stamps in 1967 and remains to this day.
The Grandmother | 1985 – 97: Raphael Maklouf
In creating his new effigy of Her Majesty, which coincided with the Queen’s early years as a grandmother, Raphael Maklouf aimed “to create a symbol, regal and ageless”. His “couped” portrait depicts Queen Elizabeth II wearing the royal diadem favoured by her on the way to and from the State Opening of Parliament.
Millennium Queen | 1998 – 2014: Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS
The approaching Millennium saw a fourth effigy on our coinage, designed by Ian Rank-Broadley. Created to fill the full circle of the coin, its larger size was a deliberate response to the smaller 5p and 10p coins in circulation. A noticeably more mature portrayal of Her Majesty, Rank-Broadley aimed to show the Queen with “poise and bearing”.
The Longest Reigning Monarch | 2015 – 2022: Jody Clark
The final portrait of Her Majesty was introduced in 2015, the year that the Queen passed Victoria as our longest reigning monarch. It is, of course, that design that will continue to remind us of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for years to come as her old currency continues to circulate long after her death.
From Coronation to Platinum Jubilee
However, it is perhaps not any of the five main portraits of Her Majesty that represent the Queen’s reign the best, but two special obverse designs. The first goes back to the very first coin released for Queen Elizabeth II – her Coronation Crown. The second, from this year’s Platinum Jubilee.
Both picture the Queen in regalia on horseback – bringing together the majesty of office with her greatest love – horses. Surely there can be no better way to remember Her Majesty than through these two great designs.
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The Next Lunar Year Potential SELL-OUT Coin is HERE… Can You Guess What Animal it is?
Who doesn’t love the legacy of the Chinese horoscope? The Royal Mint certainly does! And going off the yearly SELL-OUTS, clearly so do collectors.
Read on to explore the history of this poignant Chinese tradition, the joyful creature to ascend in 2023, and how the Royal Mint’s latest release could continue the sell-out history…
Chinese Zodiac
Firstly, you may be wondering why the Chinese lunar years each bear the names of twelve different animals. Well, an ancient tale can divulge all truths…
The story goes that one of the most important gods in traditional Chinese religion, the Jade Emperor, set-up a race with all the animals in the world. Twelve species turned up at the start line: a pig, dog, rooster, monkey, sheep, horse, snake, dragon, rabbit, tiger, ox, and rat.
As a reward for merely attending, the emperor named a year in the zodiac after each one. However, the race was used to determine the order each animal would be placed…
The cunning and versatile Rat was placed first, and due to its incessant appetite and laziness, the Pig came last after getting peckish and dozing off!
The Rabbit
2023 is the year of the Rabbit. The Rabbit marks the fourth Lunar Year in the calendar, and if we go by the ancient tale, came fourth in the race!
Those born in 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, and of course – 2023 – are said to be kind, elegant, vigilant, witty, and quick-minded! Does this sound like you or someone you know? Well, The Royal Mint have the perfect gift for them…
The Shēngxiào Collection
Since the Year of the Horse in 2014, The Royal Mint have been designing exquisite coins to match the everchanging animals that usher in the new Lunar Year!
With a reverse design imaginatively created by varying artists, the vast array of unique characteristics and qualities of each animal are individually captured.
And you cannot deny some truth in the ambition of the Dragon, the honesty of the Monkey, or the resilience of the Ox.
But today, we are calling all RABBITS!
Known for almost a decade of consistent sell-outs, the Shēngxiào Collection’s latest release is guaranteed to leave even our most dedicated collectors emptyhanded.
A guaranteed SELL-OUT?
When you consider Lunar Year coins since 2014 have SOLD-OUT ALL Silver Proof specifications, it is no surprise that this series is renowned as one of the largest ongoing coin programmes in the world!
As an international phenomenon, most of these coins are usually snapped up by collectors in the Far East, making this collection one very few British collectors will ever see… let alone own.
In fact, with the adorable International Rabbit Day fast approaching on the 24th of September, you have all the more reason to celebrate NOW before it inevitably follows the SELL-OUT pattern!
The EXTREMELY SOUGHT-AFTER 1oz Silver Proof edition
Struck from .999 silver to a perfect Proof finish, only 2,888 of these exquisite coins have been produced WORLDWIDE!
What’s more, The Westminster Collection have only been able to secure JUST 200!
You must remember that ALL silver specifications of the Lunar Year series have SOLD-OUT consistently since 2014, guaranteeing only our most dedicated collectors will be able to secure the latest release for their collection or gift to a beloved Rabbit!
In fact, by securing one your own Lunar Year of the Rabbit 1oz Silver Proof coin, you will be contributing towards a DECADE of Lunar Year Silver SELL-OUTS!
The Collector’s Favourite Specification…
Struck to Brilliant Uncirculated quality, your Lunar Year of the Rabbit £5 coin will arrive free of the marks and blemishes found on regular circulating coinage.
In fact, each coin will arrive protectively sealed in a bespoke Royal Mint presentation pack which creatively celebrates the blend between traditional Asian culture and British design, and of course, the significance of one of China’s most protected symbols: The Rabbit!
