The Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland today (3 September) issued its 2008 €5 silver proof coin and the €100 gold proof coin to celebrate International Polar Year. The coins feature two famous Irish born Antarctic explorers Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean. Their stricken vessel ‘The Endurance’ is also pictured in the distance on the coins trapped in the packed ice of Antarctica.

This is the first time the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland has issued a half troy ounce (15.55 grams in weight) gold coin denominated in Euro, with a legal tender denomination of €100.

In keeping with tradition, the national side of the coin depicts the 14 string Irish harp modelled on the ‘Brian Boru’ harp in Trinity College, Dublin. As an addition to the national side of the coin, a laurel wreath, a traditional symbol of excellence and integrity, surrounds the harp. The coins have been designed by renowned Irish artist, designer and medallist Thomas Ryan, RHA.

The coins are available individually in sterling silver which costs €50 and fine gold which costs €395 or as a special two-coin set which costs €440. A limited edition of 5,000 individual silver coins and 2,000 individual gold coins will be issued and there will also be a limited edition of 1,000 two-coin sets issued. An official order form for the coins is available from the Central Bank by phoning 1890 307 607 or from the website, www.centralbank.ie. (more…)

To celebrate the successful London 2012 bid and commemorate the Handover Ceremony of the Olympic Flag from Beijing to London on the 24 August 2008, the Royal Mint has struck a commemorative legal tender £2 coin available in 22 carat gold, sterling silver and base alloys.

The Design

The legal tender £2 coin features on its reverse the Olympic Flag and the London 2012 logo. This design has been created by the Royal Mint Engraving Team and has been authorised by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Surrounding the central design are the words ‘BEIJING 2008′ and ‘LONDON 2012′ along its outer ring, set against a backdrop of lines reminiscent of an athletics track.

The edge of the Handover Ceremony £2 coin features the inscription I CALL UPON THE YOUTH OF THE WORLD.

The 2008 United Kingdom Handover Ceremony £2 Brilliant Uncirculated Presentation Pack

This specially designed presentation pack is a delightful and affordable way of commemorating the outstanding success of the London 2012 bid and the official Handover Ceremony. (more…)

The Sgarabhaigh Sixpence forms an important part of a wider project to conserve and share the small Scottish island of Sgarabhaigh which lies in the beautiful Western Isles of Scotland. The coin design is based on an ancient coin of the realm and incorporates a blend of the ancient and modern history of the island as well as three of the ecological cornerstones of the place that is Sgarabhaigh. We have minted it in ‘fine’ silver which is 99.9% pure silver, rather than the harder but less pure Sterling Silver, as it will not have to suffer the rigours of general circulation.

The coin is based on the silver sixpence produced by James VI of Scotland (1588-1625) also James I of England (1603-1625) the first King to unite the crowns of Scotland and England. It is a denomination of coinage first introduced in 1551 and was minted up to 1967 with its final demise being part of the decimalization of currency in the United Kingdom in 1971.

The selection of a coin from this period of Royal Union is considered appropriate as Friends of Sgarabhaigh too is a joint Scottish / English venture. The coin is therefore a solid silver coin 26mm diameter and weighing 4.5gms, the same proportions as the hand struck sixpence coins minted up to 1662. The machine-made milled coins made after that date reduced in size to 21mm dia and a weight of 3 gms and they in turn were changed in1816 to a 19mm diameter 2.8 gm coin. This coin would have been hand struck in 1603 as this was the traditional method of coin production up to 1662. We have however minted the coin using a mechanical method employed post 1662 in order to retain the maximum detailed definition of the features of the coin. Its detail is an amalgam of historic and ecological elements which create what is a unique, and we believe an accurate, representation of what is now Sgarabhaigh. (more…)