2021 Change Checker Awards – WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

Since the 2021 Change Checker Awards were opened to celebrate the very best people in the world of change collecting, nominations have been flooding in, and it really has been incredible to hear all of your stories from the last year.

It’s certainly meant we’ve had a really tough job deciding on the winners, but with thanks to our panel of judges from the Change Checker team and AllAboutCoins, our well deserved winners have now been selected…

Change Checker of the Year

Winner

Jeffrey Savage

Not only does Jeffrey have an impressive collection both 50p and £2 coins, his enthusiasm for the hobby is captivating. He’s spent a great deal of time and effort encouraging a friend’s son to develop a collection, even gifting him coins when he’s found them.

A truly deserving winner – well done!

Runner-up

Grace Potter

Grace has been nominated in our Change Checker Community for being a helpful and kind member. She has been praised for swapping not only coins, but also her knowledge, helping other members become more experienced in the hobby!

Congratulations!

Junior Change Checker of the Year

Winner

Oscar Harding

Oscar has become a passionate collector, with a wealth of knowledge on circulating coinage (from mintages to designers!) He’s particularly interested in collecting 50p coins, with his heart set on the Kew Gardens, something we can all relate to! His younger sister has now been introduced to the hobby, with the help of her brother, Oscar.

Congratulations!

Runner-up

Harry Halser

Harry has gone above and beyond in the community this year, checking his change at every opportunity and asking other family members to keep an eye out for him. He’s new to the hobby but is passionate, driven, and excited about the coins he has found in his change – all the qualities needed to be a super coin collector!

Well done!


A huge congratulations to our winners and runners up! Keep up the great work. Your prizes are on their way to you!

Matt, a panel member at AllAboutCoins said:

“Once again change checkers around the country have gone above and beyond to find the rarest coins and improve their collections, despite the funny old year we have experienced. What is most impressive about the winners is their clear passion to learn; collecting coins is not just about obtaining the designs themselves, it’s about discovering the stories behind the coins, the reasons they have been issued, and finding out who created these mini masterpieces. Congratulations to both the winners and runners-up and be sure to keep building your knowledge as well as your collection!”


Coin Design of the Year

It comes as no surprise that the 2021 Coin Design of the Year is awarded to the Decimal Day 50p!

The coin has been one of the biggest talking points of the year in the collecting community. We saw two versions of this 50p commemorating the 50th anniversary of our UK coinage turning decimal.

The first version of the Decimal Day 50p, available exclusively in the 2021 Annual Coin Set, features the original Arnold Machin portrait of Her Majesty The Queen on the obverse – the same obverse used for the UK’s very first decimal coins.

However, the individual coin which was released later in January, featured Jody Clark’s fifth portrait of The Queen instead.

If you want to find out why The Royal Mint reverted back to the Queen’s first decimal effigy for this new issue, click here >>

Which version of the 2021 UK Decimal Day 50p do you have in your collection? Let us know in the comment below!

Coin Story of the Year

The winning article in the Coin Story of the Year category, goes to second-time winner George Nixon of This Is Money!

His article, which you can read here, covers the story of Decimalisation, from the brand new 50p issued to mark the 50th anniversary of Decimal Day, to the rarest decimal coins currently in circulation.

Speaking to Change Checker, George said: “Becoming the first person to win back-to-back Coin Story of the Year awards is a real privilege. While I’ve hung up the coin cape with my move to The Times, it’s great to see This is Money once again recognised for the consistent excellence of its coin coverage.”


A big thank you once again to AllAboutCoins for supporting us this year and of course a huge congratulations to all of our winners and all the fantastic entries we had this year.

We’d like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support in 2021 and hope that 2022 is a fantastic year of Change Checking for you all!


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2020 Change Checker Awards NOW OPEN!

We’re delighted to announce the 2020 Change Checker Awards in association with All About Coins, where we’ll be celebrating the very best of the change collecting world from 2020!

We’re looking for the 2020 Change Checker of the Year and the 2020 Junior Change Checker of the year and we need your help!

Do you know somebody who deserves to be crowned ‘Change Checker of the year’? If so, we’d love to hear why.

Has someone you know completed an epic collection? Do you know somebody who’s gone above and beyond to help other Change Checkers complete their collections? Or have you been introduced to the world of change collecting by another Change Checker?

If you know someone who has been the perfect Change Checker, we want to hear from you.

Send an email outlining why your family or friend[s] deserve to win this coveted award to [email protected].

Alternatively, you can submit your entry using the sign-up form at the bottom of this blog. 

Finally, you can leave a comment on any of our social media pages but be sure to use the hashtag #CCAwards2020.

To qualify for Junior Change Checker of the year the application must be aged 16 or younger. The closing date for entries is 5pm on Friday 4th December.

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All entries will be judged by our panel and the results announced on Wednesday 9th December. Please see terms and conditions.

The victorious Change Checker and Junior Change Checker of the year will each win an exclusive Change Checker trophy and a bundle of goodies worth more than £50, including a year’s subscription to Coin Collector magazine!

Categories

The other categories that make up the Change Checker Awards are:

  • Coin Story of the Year 2020 – chosen by our panel.
  • Top 3 Pieces of 2020 Coin Art – judged by our panel and chosen from your email submissions and social media posts. To submit your coin art, please email [email protected]
Example of Change Checker Coin Art
  • UK Coin Design of the Year 2020 – judged by you!

UK Coin Design of the Year 2020

Votes for the Top UK Coin Design of the Year has now closed.


The winners for all Change Checker Award categories will be announced on the 9th December.

Good Luck!

Submissions for the 2020 Change Checker of the Year nomination have now closed. Tune in on the 9th December to find out the winners.


Terms and Conditions

  • The winners will receive an exclusive Change Checker trophy and a bundle of goodies, as well as a year’s subscription to Coin Collector magazine. There is no cash alternative.
  • Participants agree to meet reasonable requests to assist publicity.
  • The Change Checker Awards 2020 are promoted by The Westminster Collection / Change Checker, trading divisions of 288 Group Ltd.
  • Employees of 288 Group and their families are not eligible to enter.
  • The judges’ decision will be final and no explanation, correspondence or discussion will be offered or entered into before or following the judges’ decision.

If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:

– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers

2018 Change Checker Awards

Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app

WINNERS of the 2018 Change Checker Awards announced!

 

In November we opened the 2018 Change Checker Awards to celebrate the very best people in the world of change collecting, and I must say that it’s been incredible to hear all of your stories from the last year.

In fact, it’s been a really tough job deciding on the winners, but with thanks to our panel of judges from the Change Checker team and Coin Collector magazine, our well deserved winners have now been selected…

Checker Checker of the Year

Winner:

Chris Goodman

Chris was nominated by his girlfriend, Chloe who has learnt so much about coins because of him. His passion for coins has grown since he was a child, spending hours in antique shops looking at all the old coins. When it comes to his own collection, Chris is very particular about keeping everything in order, which is why he uses his Change Checker album to store his proudest belongings – coins.

As he carefully researches every coin he owns, Chris takes great pleasure and satisfaction in passing on this knowledge to other collectors and explaining the meaning behind each of his coins to the people he meets. He also owns all of the Change Checker accessories to help him with his collection.

Congratulations Chris – keep up the great work!

 

Runners up:

Paula Treleaven

Paula was nominated by Garry Williams for helping members to send and swap their coins throughout the year. She is looking after her husband who has cancer and working, but still manages to find time to keep coin collectors happy and so has been put forward for this award as a thank you for everything that she has done this year.

Susan Walters

Susan was nominated by her husband Robert for her enthusiasm for coin collecting, which started with her collection of Elizabeth II coins and has since grown to encompass £2 and 50p coins as well. She has also led swapping sessions at work and home, sharing her passion for collecting with others, even as her mobility declines. Great work Susan, well done!

 

Junior Change Checker of the Year

Winner:

Isla MacDonald (10 years)

Isla has found a special interest in coin collecting which started after she discovered an unusual 50p, which her father helped her to research. After keeping on eye out for other coins, by the end of her first day as a Change Checker, she had found three more and from there her interest has continued to such an extent that she has collected 40 50p coins and 30 £2 coins.

The local shopkeepers now keep aside any special coins for Isla as she always asks for them in her change. This interest has become infectious with her family, and even family friends now actively look out for those special remaining coins to complete her collection.

Isla has recently been covering World War 1 in school and was delighted to take in the First World War £2 coin to show her teacher and the class. She will not spend any of ehr special coins, but will help others who are starting out by swapping her doubles for normal coins.

Well done Isla!

 

Runners up:

Sophie Welch (15 years)

Sophie started showing an interest in coins nearly two years ago after noticing the different £2 and 50p designs. She soon got her first Change Checker collectors album and since then her collection has grown. Her interest in Art led her to design a coin in 2018 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing. After contacting The Royal Mint to share her design, Sophie was invited to spend a day at the Royal Mint and was even featured in an article on their blog. Sophie is certain that she wants to design coins for The Royal Mint when she is older. Great work Sophie!

Esme Hurley (8 years)

Esme has been an avid coin collector since the release of the first Beatrix Potter coins back in 2016. She now collects all coin denominations and checks every bit of change she receives and has drawn many members of her family and close friends into her collection hobby to assist in completing her ever growing collection. Esme loves to use the swap app and has travelled to the Change Checker live events. Most recently, Esme did a small presentation to her fellow cub scouts all about her coin collection and earned the cub collector badge. Well done Esme!

 

Coin Design of the Year

It comes as no surprise that the 2018 Coin Design of the Year is awarded to The Snowman 50p.

Natasha Ratcliffe’s dynamic design knocks Aaron West off the top spot for the first time two years, and it’s clear to see why she is the deserving winner this year. This Christmas 50p issued to mark the 40th anniversary of the publication of Raymond Briggs’ much-loved festive tale The Snowman™ depicts the boy and the snowman flying through the night sky above Brighton Pier and has been the most sought-after 50p of the year.

Congratulations Natasha!

 

Coin Story of the Year

The winner of the 2018 Coin Story of the Year Award goes to Lee Boyce from This Money for his breaking news article covering this year’s biggest reveal – the A-Z 10p coins!

 

Lee Boyce from This is Money. Coin Story of the Year 2018

 

Lee said, “I’m delighted to receive the award for Coin Story of the Year – and it’s sound as a pound that This is Money has been recognised for our excellent coverage on all things numismatical.

We always like to get our two pennies across in stories, and to make sure that anything we write about coins is accurate – not using overhyped and inaccurate information.

Thanks to Change Checker for the award – we will endeavour to continue with our solid coin stories into 2019.”

 

A big thank you once again to Coin Collector for supporting us this year and of course a huge congratulations to all of our winners and all the fantastic entries we had this year. We’d like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support in 2018 and hope that 2019 is a fantastic year of Change Checking for you all!

 


 

If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:

– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers

Change Checker Web App Banner 2 Amends 1024x233 1 1024x233 - 2018 Change Checker Awards

Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app