Queen Elizabeth II Coins: Building a Reign Collection

Why a Reign Collection?

There is something quietly extraordinary about holding a penny struck in 1953 — the year of the Coronation — and placing it beside one minted in 2021. Nearly seven decades separate those two small discs of metal, yet both carry the portrait of the same monarch. That span of time, that single continuous face on British coinage, is what makes a Queen Elizabeth II reign collection one of the most personally rewarding projects a beginner collector can take on.

I came to coin collecting through a biscuit tin. My grandmother kept one under her bed, stuffed with old pennies, threepenny bits, and the occasional florin. When she passed, the tin came to me. Most of the coins were worth little in monetary terms, but I found myself unable to stop looking at them — reading the dates, tracing the different portraits of the Queen, noticing how her image aged with the nation. That biscuit tin became the foundation of a collection I am still building today.

If you are starting from scratch, a reign collection focused on Queen Elizabeth II is a brilliant entry point. The coins are genuinely accessible. Many can still be found in everyday change or purchased affordably from dealers and auction houses across the country. And unlike some specialist areas of numismatics — the study and collection of coins — you do not need a university education or a large budget to get started.

Understanding the Portraits: A Story Told in Profiles

One of the first things that strikes new collectors is that the Queen’s portrait changed several times over the decades. This is not accidental. British coinage tradition dictates that the monarch’s portrait is updated periodically to reflect their advancing years. For Elizabeth II, there were six distinct effigies used on circulating coinage during her reign, and understanding them gives your collection real narrative structure.

The first portrait, designed by Mary Gillick, appeared on coins from 1953. It shows a young queen, bare-headed and serene, with a laurel wreath — an image that felt deliberately classical and timeless. Many collectors find this effigy the most beautiful, and coins bearing it in good condition can command a small premium, though circulated examples remain affordable.

Arnold Machin’s portrait followed in 1968 on decimal coinage and is one of the most replicated images in history — the same design was used on British stamps for decades. Then came Raphael Maklouf’s crowned effigy in 1985, followed by Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait in 1998, which appeared on coins for over fifteen years. Jody Clark’s effigy, introduced in 2015, was the final portrait used on circulating coins during her lifetime. Each one is subtly different, and placing them side by side across your collection tells the story of a long life in a way that no photograph quite manages.

Decimal vs Pre-Decimal: Choosing Your Focus

Before you start spending any money, you need to make a decision that will shape your entire collection: are you collecting pre-decimal coins, decimal coins, or both?

Pre-decimal coins — those minted before 15th February 1971, when Britain switched to the decimal system — include pennies, halfpennies, threepenny bits, sixpences, shillings, florins, half-crowns, and crowns. These coins have a charm and heft that many collectors adore. The old penny is enormous compared to a modern 1p coin, and the threepenny bit, with its twelve-sided brass design, is a perennial favourite.

Decimal coins, running from 1971 to the present day, are arguably easier to collect because they are better documented, more uniformly graded, and many examples from the 1970s and 1980s can still be found in change — though this is becoming increasingly rare as the years pass. The decimal set also includes some genuinely scarce pieces, such as the 1992 and 1993 two-pence coins marked “NEW PENCE,” which occasionally surface in old piggy banks and jars.

My suggestion for a beginner is to start with the decimal series. It is more manageable, cheaper to complete in circulated grades, and gives you a solid grounding before you consider the older, more complex pre-decimal issues.

Grading: What Condition Actually Means

Walk into any coin fair — the Birmingham Coin Fair at the National Motorcycle Museum is a good one to visit if you are in the Midlands — and you will immediately hear dealers using grading terminology. Understanding it is essential before you buy anything.

British coin grading runs broadly as follows, from worst to best:

• Poor (P): The coin is identifiable but heavily worn. Date may be barely legible.
• Fair (F): Major features visible, but significant wear throughout.
• Fine (F or Fine): Moderate wear on the highest points. Most details clear.
• Very Fine (VF): Light wear only on the highest points. A presentable coin.
• Extremely Fine (EF or XF): Minimal wear. Nearly all original detail present.
• Uncirculated (Unc or UNC): No wear at all. May have bag marks or minor contact marks from the mint.
• Brilliant Uncirculated (BU): Uncirculated with full original lustre.
• Proof: Specially struck coins with mirror-like fields, made for collectors rather than circulation.

For a beginner building a reign collection on a modest budget, aiming for Very Fine on pre-decimal coins and Extremely Fine on decimal issues is perfectly sensible. You do not need Proof examples to build a collection you will be proud of. Save those for key dates and special pieces that genuinely warrant the extra cost.

Where to Find Queen Elizabeth II Coins

This is the part that most beginners underestimate: coins are everywhere, once you know where to look.

Start with your own change. It sounds obvious, but many people throw coins into a jar without ever looking at them properly. Go through that jar. You might already have a 1971 decimal penny in there, which is actually a reasonably scarce circulated coin in decent condition. Check behind sofa cushions. Ask relatives if they have old coins sitting around.

Beyond the home, here are the main sources worth knowing:

1. Coin fairs: The London Coin Fair at the Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury is held several times a year and is one of the most established in the country. The York Coin Fair and the Manchester Coin Fair are both worth a day trip. These events let you handle coins before buying and give you the chance to chat with dealers who often have real expertise to share freely.
2. Dealers: Reputable British dealers include A.H. Baldwin & Sons in London (one of the oldest in the country), Spink & Son on Southampton Row, and numerous regional specialists. Online dealers such as Collectors Coins & Stamps or Timeline Auctions are worth bookmarking.
3. eBay: A double-edged tool. You can find excellent deals, but you can also overpay badly or receive coins in worse condition than photographed. Stick to sellers with strong feedback and always check the Return Policy before committing.
4. The Royal Mint: For commemorative and collector editions, the Royal Mint’s own website is the official source. Based in Llantrisant in Wales, the Mint also has an excellent on-site museum and experience centre worth visiting if you are ever in South Wales.
5. Charity shops and car boot sales: Underrated. Collections are donated to charity shops more often than you might think. A Scope or British Heart Foundation shop in a market town can occasionally yield real finds. Car boot sales on a Sunday morning, especially in areas with older populations, are similarly worth a regular visit.

Commemorative Coins and Crown-Sized Issues

During her seventy-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II appeared on an enormous number of commemorative coins. These are coins issued for special occasions — Silver Jubilee, Golden Jubilee, Platinum Jubilee, royal weddings, significant anniversaries — rather than for everyday circulation. They are typically crown-sized (roughly the size of the old five-shilling piece) and are issued in cupro-nickel for general sale or in silver and gold for the collector market.

The 1977 Silver Jubilee crown is probably the most commonly encountered commemorative from the reign. Hundreds of thousands were sold, and they remain cheap — usually a few pounds in circulated condition. The 2002 Golden Jubilee issues and the 2012 Diamond Jubilee coins are similarly plentiful. If you are starting out, buying these in circulated or average uncirculated condition is a fine approach; do not pay inflated prices for “special packaging” that adds little numismatic value.

Where it gets more interesting — and more expensive — is in the silver Proof issues. The Royal Mint produced Proof sets for most years of the reign, and a complete run of annual Proof sets from 1970 to 2022 represents a serious long-term project. Many collectors choose to focus on just one area: perhaps the silver Proof crown series, or the gold Sovereign issues, which carry a different sort of weight and history entirely.

Storing and Organising Your Collection

This is where new collectors often go wrong. The worst thing you can do with coins is store them loose in a tin or a jar, where they knock against each other and develop hairlines and scratches that permanently damage their surfaces. The second worst thing is to clean them — a topic we will come to in a moment.

For a beginner, the following storage options are practical and
affordable: coin albums with PVC-free plastic pockets, individual cardboard or plastic coin flips, and purpose-made coin capsules for your better pieces. Capsules are particularly recommended for anything proof or uncirculated, as they prevent contact entirely and allow you to examine both sides without touching the coin itself. Avoid any storage solution that uses PVC, which off-gasses over time and leaves a sticky, iridescent film on surfaces that is very difficult to reverse.

Humidity and temperature matter more than most beginners realise. A stable, cool, and dry environment is far preferable to an attic or garage, where condensation cycles can cause spotting and toning on silver and even on copper. A wooden cabinet or drawer in a living space is perfectly adequate for most collections. Silica gel sachets placed near your storage boxes help regulate moisture, and they are cheap enough to replace every few months without much thought. The one thing to avoid entirely is touching the face of a coin with bare fingers — the oils from skin etch into surfaces over time, leaving permanent fingerprints that reduce both visual appeal and value.

On the subject of cleaning: do not do it. This cannot be stated plainly enough. A coin that has been polished, rinsed in jewellery cleaner, or even wiped with a cloth loses its original surface lustre and, with it, a substantial portion of its collector value. What looks like grime to an inexperienced eye is often original toning that experienced collectors and dealers actively seek out. If you acquire a coin that is genuinely dirty, set it aside and seek advice from a reputable dealer or grading service before doing anything to it.

Conclusion

A Queen Elizabeth II reign collection is one of the most achievable and rewarding projects in British numismatics. The coinage spans more than seven decades, encompasses enormous variety in design, metal, and denomination, and is still readily available at every level of the market, from pocket-change pennies to high-grade gold proofs. Whether you choose breadth or depth, circulated coins or pristine specimens, the record pressed into those surfaces is a genuine and tangible piece of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Start simply, store carefully, and buy the best examples your budget allows — the collection will take shape from there.