MAN WINS 1983 ROYAL MINT CONTEST - IN 2020

A coin collector from Tunbridge Wells was shocked to win a prize from a kids competition that the Royal Mint ran almost 40 years ago.

Warren Light, who lives near Grosvenor Park in the town, has only been an avid numismatist for a year but has an extensive and rare collection.

He regularly creates videos for his YouTube channel devoted to the hobby.

Warren says his favourite 50p design is one dedicated to Professor Stephen Hawking, as his own father had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

"It's only been about a year I've been collecting, I guess I was looking for something that I could collect as a hobby or pastime - I looked at a couple of things and just happened to come across a post on Facebook one day, an advert for coins.

"I had no idea of how many there were or anything like that and then I looked into it and was like 'Wow there's so many'.

The hobby led Warren to purchase an old folder online: "I bought a 1983 year set on eBay and it came through with some information included with it - a National Coin Week young coin collector's competition and it was dated 15th of April 1983.

"It's a folder that was empty at the time and the idea was that they would have to collect all of the shillings from 1947 to 1980."

"I thought it would be a nice thing for me to actually fill the folder up."

After filling his folder, Warren took the chance and got in touch with the Royal Mint: "I completed it and just for a bit of fun, a bit tongue in cheek really, I thought 'I'll email the Mint, to send some photographs of it and say that I've just finished it'.

"I put something on the email along the lines of 'I wondered if you had any prizes that were left unclaimed from 37 years ago?'"

Mr Light forgot all about the email but was delighted to receive a response a few weeks later.

The Royal Mint was pleased to hear about his achievement and how it had helped his mental health, in addition, they said: "As a gesture of goodwill we'll send you a small something in the post."

Not expecting anything grand, Warren went about his day-to-day life as normal but received a knock at the door yesterday (August 6) and received a parcel from the Royal Mint.

He said: "It was amazing, I didn't expect that - I opened it up and it was the 2020 year set.

"I totally was gobsmacked, it was unbelievable. When they said a gesture of goodwill I was expecting maybe a 50p coin but it's actually two year sets. It's all the normal coins but all the commemorative coins as well."

The set which retailed for around £60 online, is worth over £100, he says, if the coins were sold individually due to some of the rare additions to the collection.

Addressing the staff at the Royal Mint, he said: "I'd like to give a massive thank you, it really did leave me speechless."

To read the complete article, see:
I entered a Royal Mint competition from 37 years ago and still won an amazing prize (https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/entered-royal-mint-competition-37-4405996)

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