The Royal Mint and the need for change

Each year, The Royal Mint produce more and more coin designs - as the demand for circulation coins continues to decline. This of course will result in many of these coins never entering circulation.

In 2017 Coin Hunter could see the inevitable progression as the new design £2 coins were not needed, with millions of 2015 and 2016 also surplus to demand and left in cash centres as an early warning that change is coming (or in this case going!)

Trusted coin community brands such and Change Checker and Check Your Change (Helping us check change since 1965) are facing a very uncertain future – we now know that £2 coin production has ended for at least 10 years, but in reality of course – demand for coins 10 years from now will be much lower than today, so unless a few VE Day £2 coins have already been struck for circulation – we have seen the last of the £2 coins in change.

In recent years, the nation's favourite coin, the 50p is following the same path as the £2 coin. Since "The Snowman", the first 50p not required for circulation was produced in 2018 – there have been 20 new designs including the new Winnie the Pooh 3 coins series.

21 coins in total, 4 in circulation – it is pretty clear that without some intervention, the idea of collecting coins from circulation and checking change will soon be a distant memory.

Will you miss the excitement of checking your change and finding a coin for your collection such as a shiny new Winnie the Pooh 50p?

Did you start collecting after spotting a different looking coin that stood out in a handful of change?

It is no exaggeration to suggest that the lack of new designs entering circulation is the beginning of the end of public interest collecting.

We need your help: the coin community can work together with Coin Hunter to make sure new release coins can be found in change - so the fun and challenge of building a collection are not lost to the decline in demand for coins.

Like everything else, coin collecting has to evolve when things change - in 2017, who would have thought that an online coin hunt with virtual coins would capture the interest of the coin community, receiving great feedback from nearly all that took part over the last 3 years.

Coin Hunter was created for the fun of finding online, to make real coins available at face value.

With the ultimate goal of adding every new coin release to virtual circulation, so everyone could still enjoy the thrill of the hunt - as the increasing numbers of new issue coins were no longer needed to meet the ever declining demand for coins in the real world.

A set back (or 4)

Coin Hunter approached The Royal Mint with the idea, a fully developed app and a proven track record over the last 3 years.

The Royal Mint could see the potential and invited Coin Hunter to submit an application and a business plan – on the understanding that first year order value would be £50,000, but second year would achieve the £250,000 minimum spend.

10 weeks after receiving this information, the application was declined as were 3 other applications in previous years.

"We have reached a decision regarding your application and unfortunately we will not be able to appoint you as a distributor at this time."

"a key issue and driving force for our decision not to take your application forward is that your sales projections in your original plan provided do not meet our minimum thresholds of £250,000 per annum."

Do I give up?

No, everyone can make a mistake – perhaps concentrating on short term profit when faced with monumental change that threatens to bring 1,134 years of history to a close.

The Royal Mint see Coin Hunter as a thorn in their side, a constant distraction from their important work – but over the last 3 years, everything I have done was to make the online coin hunt a reality that could safeguard the future of coin collecting. Meeting the needs of many circulation coin collectors in a different way whilst introducing the next generation to real coins at a time when many younger people only use digital currency.

My vision is not possible without a supply of coins in tubes. (Like those sold in coin cards)

A supply of coins in tubes is not available to Coin Hunter as there is no way my company can meet the required minimum spend of 5 million pounds which is also subject to various additional approval steps, where the final decision after meeting all the requirements can still be no.

Please comment on the Facebook post if you would like to be part of the evolution.