Elizabeth II, 25 Pence (Queen Mother's 80th Anniversary Coin & Postcard) 1980 CN Unc

In 1972 the Royal Mint issued a commemorative 25 Pence or Crown for the Queen & Prince Phillip’s 25th Wedding Anniversary. What most people don’t realise is that there were three different types issued. You have the base metal or cupronickel Crown that was issued in Uncirculated theoretically for circulation and the Sterling Silver Proof issued for collectors, but you also have a third type issued. This is the cupronickel Proof which came in the 1972 Proof Set. The type offered here is the cupronickel in uncirculated condition. It is a simple design with EP for Elizabeth and Phillip on one side and the Queen’s portrait on the other side. It is also the first decimal crown or 25 Pence to be struck for the Queen.

We were lucky enough to have another dealer offer us a couple of original bags of the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II 50 Pence coins. These were issued just before the Queen died and are one of her last coins to be issued. On one side you have the bust of Queen Elizabeth II and on the reverse a large 70 with the crowned cypher in the middle and the dates 1952-2022. These coins are in Brilliant Uncirculated condition and have never been used. We opened the sealed Royal Mint bags ourselves, these coins are about as nice as you can get for coins actually struck to be used. The fifty pence denomination is the most popular or any denomination the Mint issues and this is one of the last Queen Elizabeth II coins to be struck

In 1968 when the first decimal coins were issued they carried the denomination, ‘New Pence’ to differentiate them from the pre-decimal Pence or Penny coins. In 1982 the Mint felt that we had enough time to differentiate between the two Pence so they changed the denomination to Pence from New Pence. On most of the coins that was fine but there was one problem in the making. The Mint had decided that the lowly Half Pence was too low and value and would shortly stop making them. In fact in 1983 they did stop making them and in 1984 they only made the coins in the Mint and Proof Sets. So the 1982 Half Pence is the last coin that was actually struck for circulation. The Half Pence coin was only struck for three years and two of those coins are difficult to get and can be expensive. We bought an original bag of the 1982 Half Pence coins in Brilliant Uncirculated condition, it is scarcer than most people realise and priced rather reasonably. Get them while you can…