Elizabeth II, £1 (Bubble Pack) 1983

Here we offer the 1996 50p issued in Proof Sterling Silver. This coin is part of a set that the Royal Mint issued in 1996 containing all current coins in Proof Sterling Silver.

On the 21st of April 1980, the Royal Mint struck for the first time a One Pound coin that was NOT made of gold. You had the youthful portrait of the Queen on one side and the arms of Great Britain on the other side. We just found some covers that we bought years and years ago which commemorate this first-ever non-gold Pound. It has a 15 1/2p stamp on it and a picture of the obverse and reverse of the new pound. It has a St. George and the dragon cancellation ‘National Coin Week – National Postal Museum London EC1’. Plus, a blue rubber stamp ‘Posted on the First Day of the Royal Mint Exhibition on the 18th of April 1983 at the National Postal Museum’ and ‘National Coin Week’. All you have to do is add a 1983 Pound and you have a heck of a display piece. We are not offering the coin as many collectors already have it.

In 1992 everyone thought that the new European currency would be called the Ecu. Of course, they were wrong, it ended up being called Euro. Some privately issued patterns were struck, they are crownsized and contain the nominal value of 25 Ecus. You have St. George slaying the dragon on one side and Neptune and Europa on either side of a globe of the world with England below. The examples we have are those struck in brass, which is the scarcest metal they were struck in. These are full crownsized and Prooflike condition, you can add one to your collection for just a very reasonable price and remember that this metal is the scarcest of the lot.