CHANGE CHECKER AWARD WINNERS REVEALED!
The results of the Change Checker Awards for 2020 have been announced, celebrating the very best people in the world of change collecting, many of whom have incredible coin-related stories to share from what has been a challenging year.
The winners were revealed on the Change Checker website with a special video (head over to allaboutcoins.co.uk to watch) presented by Change Checker’s experts Rachel Hooper and Alexandra Siddons. The annual awards are proudly supported by Coin Collector and the allaboutcoins.co.uk website.
Matt Hill, Coin Collector editor and a member of the judging panel, said: ‘‘Wow, the team at allaboutcoins.co.uk were blown away by the entrants for this year’s awards, with so many heartwarming stories and inspirational collectors. It’s been a heck of a year, and so hearing how coin enthusiasts used their interest in coins to help others was brilliant. Emily Jackson, for example, donated coins to her local care home; Ann Weaver went out of her way to help a collector who was self-isolating; and Michael Clough used lockdown to not only grow his collection but learn much more about the subjects featured on the coins.
‘Meanwhile, Ben Osborne’s passion for collecting coins has captured the imagination of the local community and he’s got a willing group of helpers checking their change! It’s nice to hear that Ben’s collection is progressing and that he’s now looking at non-UK coins too.
‘Congratulations to all the winners, and to everyone who entered or simply got some pleasure from our wonderful hobby during 2020. We hope the winners enjoy reading Coin Collector magazine and will watch their progress with interest!’
CHANGE CHECKER OF THE YEAR WINNER: BEN OSBORNE
‘Ben the coin collector’, as he is known by to his friends and family, is both an avid collector and supporter of the collecting community. He has built up an extensive collection of coins, whilst also encouraging others to take up the hobby too.
Runner-up Ann Weaver went above and beyond in helping others complete their collections this year. She has exchanged money for commemorative coins for those who have been unable to visit the banks themselves.
JUNIOR CHANGE CHECKER OF THE YEAR WINNER: EMILY JACKSON
Emily has been collecting coins for over two years, and has successfully filled four Change Checker albums with her impressive collections! She even donated some of her coins to a local care home to encourage residents to take up the hobby.
Runner-up Michael Clough has become an avid coin collector, who regularly swaps on the Change Checker Community Group and loves hunting through bags of coins for coins he can add to his collection. He’s also made generous donations of coins to others – an attribute that is highly regarded in the collecting community.
COIN DESIGN OF THE YEAR
It comes as no surprise that the 2020 Coin Design of the Year is awarded to the Team GB 50p! This coin has been the talking point of the year in the collecting community, as we saw its initial release postponed to 2021 as a result of the Olympic Games also being put back a year. However, the coin was available in the Annual Coin Sets, which led collectors to question whether we’d see two versions of this 50p, with different mintage figures.
Later in 2020 it was confirmed that the 2021 issued coin, would have the same design as the 2020 version, but with the new date included – meaning there will definitely be two versions of the Team GB 50p!
COIN ART OF THE YEAR
Congratulations to Natalie Christie, for her amazing guitar coin art, Gemma Louise for her tribute to the wonderful NHS, and Kerry Taylor’s heart of 50ps.
COIN STORY OF THE YEAR
The winner of the 2020 Coin Story of the Year Award goes to George Nixon, of This Is Money, for his article on the 2020 Winnie the Pooh 50p series.
Speaking to Change Checker, George said: ‘[When he] was just a small boy, I like many kids was in love with the Hundred Acre Wood and the stories of Winnie the Pooh. It’s fitting and especially lovely then to have won this award for this particular story.’
Alexandra Siddons, of Change Checker, added: ‘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 2020 and hope that 2021 is a fantastic year of Change Checking for you all!’
Turn to page 58 to read our regular article on modern coins from Change Checker. Love collecting 50p coins? Be sure to sign up to the allaboutcoins newsletter and you’ll receive a FREE 50p PDF e-book. Just visit: www.allaboutcoins.co.uk/account/register