Hi and best way to get latest commenmorative releases

[MarkM 0]

Hi there - just joined the forums

I've collected circulated 50p/£1/£2 coins on and off over the years as I get them in my change, putting together a collection of the different commemorative releases. 

I want to be a bit more active and ensure I get the new releases as they come out. I've just seen that the new £2 Jane Austen has been released and wondered what was the best way to get hold of one was. I saw that you can buy BU off the Royal mint, but can you get a standard coin direct from somewhere? Can you just go into a bank and ask for some, or do you simply have to hope they come in your change at some point (or resort to eBay!) ?

Thanks for advice

Mark

[UPINSMOKE 456]

You could try the Royal Mint or here http://www.westminstercollection.com/p-624N/2017-UK-Jane-Austen-CERTIFIED-BU-2-Pound.aspx failing that perhaps as your banks if they have any. Hope that helps. Maybe others on here may have other sources you could try.

[Phaseolus 4]

Welcome Mark

I have been collecting £2 coins as well, and only just recently in an active manner. As smoke mentioned one thing you can do, if you want a circulated Jane Austen £2 is go to the Bank and withdraw £X in £2 coins, then go through and see if you get one. This can be a long process though and of course the chances are slim you'll find one, but this is how I got 6 commemorative coins I needed in two trips. Hope this helps.

[Phaseolus 4]

Oh and if you want any PM me which ones you need as I have a load from those runs that I might otherwise just put back into circulation.

[Stuntman 264]

As Phase says - try doing a few bank runs.  Although perhaps leave it a few months if you're looking for the Jane Austen coin specifically as I doubt there are many in general circulation yet.  I've done this a few times in the past but more as a bit of fun, rather than in absolute seriousness to find a particular coin.

The current hit rate on £2 commemoratives is around 1 in every 7 coins, so you're very likely to find an interesting cross-section of coins for if you changed say £200 into 100 £2 coins.  Rinse and repeat!

I've just done £500 worth of 50ps in an attempt to find a Kew Gardens!  Unsuccessful, but amusing nonetheless.  The hit rate of commemoratives on these 1000 50ps was 9.3%, i.e. 93 coins that weren't either the standard Britannia or the partial shield reverse.  I'll recycle these into another £500 worth soon, and then stop!

[scott 129]

try the post office as well, big city ones even sell sets etc.

[Peckris 579]

Damn the truncated summaries of a post's title on the right! All I saw was:

Hi and best way to get la

I was really hoping for something interesting, or at least a few tips. 

[Phaseolus 4]

On 12/06/2017 at 9:37 PM, Stuntman said:

 I'll recycle these into another £500 worth soon, and then stop!

I just end up keep recycling them in haha, I will probably call it quits after another couple though.

[Oswald 6]

Mark where do you live? I think it is possible to find what your search in the bank.

[MarkM 0]

Thanks guys - I've manged t pick up a couple by the suggested method of getting a stack from the bank - mostly Standing on the Shoulders of Giants version though!

(based in London in answer to Oswald)

[Stuntman 264]

Just done the other £500 in 50ps and still no Kew Gardens, unsurprisingly.  But on the positive side, I did find the two Olympic 50ps that I hadn't manage to get from change (Fencing and Taekwondo).  No Jemima Puddle Duck in all 2000 coins either, that one seems to have been removed from circulation pretty quickly along with most of the other Beatrix Potter designs.  In my 2000 coins I only found about 15 Beatrix Potters of any type.

Edit: the hit rate on this batch of 500 coins was quite interesting.  I didn't find a single commemorative in the first 106 coins I sorted, and only 33 in the first 500 coins (£250).  But in the second 500 coins I found a further 81 commemoratives, making the hit rate over 11% in total.

Edited June 28, 2017 by Stuntman