The Isle Of Man, to me, have one of the most interesting and, at the same time, frustrating coins to collect. One rather refreshing thing with the Isle Of Man is that they change their designs every 4-6 years meaning they don't date to quickly (except for the 1989 set). Some have been better than others and so I'll be posting images of several different sets in this topic, rather than multiple threads for the different sets. Some however will be a bit incomplete, the mid-late 90's set being the hardest to get hold of, but I thought for anybody interested in collecting Isle Of Man coins would like to see what there is to get of the standard sets (going from the most recent to the oldest):

2007 Set - First Issued 2005 (official name unknown)

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I do like this set but apart from the 20p nothing here really stands out for me it's just the usual buildings on coins affair


2000 Set - Millennium Set - 2000-2004

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The 50p here is one of my most favourite modern coins, the detail is just excellent, likewise the 5p is a lovely design. I also like the 20p & £1 coins. The 1p, 2p & 10p is the normal building coins. I unfortunately don't have the £2 coin although I have seen it and it is an excellent design, hopefully I will get one one day

1995-1999 Set - Sporting Set (Official date span unknown)

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Although a rather good set this is possibly my least favourite from the Isle Of Man & one of the most difficult for obtaining the complete set for some reason. There is two varieties of 50p here, the large & small one and for some reason two variants of the 1998 £1 coin, one with the three legs of man on the front of the coin, one without. I unfortunately don't have the 1p or 10p coin, I have never seen the 10p coin either. From what I can make out, this set ran from 1995-1999, I have seen a £1 from the Technology series dated 1994 & the millennium series followed in 2000 so I presume these were made between 1995-1999

The designs are as follows:

1p - Rugby Ball (not pictured)
2p - Cycling
5p - Golf
10p - Unknown (not pictured)
20p - Rally Cars
50p - Manx TT Motorcycles
£1 - Cricket
£2 - History of Motor Car Racing

1989 - Technology Set - 1989-1994

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An interesting set to say the least, only the 1p, 2p, 20p & £1 still circulate from this series. The design for the 5p remained the same when it was shrunk but the 10p changed to a design that didn't match the set this is due to the shrinkage of the size of the 10p which saw all coins with the "three legs of man" being withdrawn. Both the 50p & £1 coins designs are rather dated but only the £1 remains in circulation. My favourite from this however is the 2p coin for it's nice historical roots & the 50p for the "modern" PC.

Designs are as follows:

1p - Lathe & Cog Wheel
2p - Arts & Crafts
Old 5p - Windsurfing
New 5p - As Above
Old 10p - Leader of Finance(!?)
New 10p - Three Legs Of Man
20p - Agriculture
50p - "Modern" PC
£1 - "Modern" Mobile Phone

1985 - Wildlife Set (1984/5-1988)

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The 1980's really did have some good designs in the Isle Of Man. This is the wildlife set, the second one to feature animals & a viking ship on the 50p but two of the coins have a floral design. The patterns on the borders are nice & detailed and the overall picture within the sheilds are great as well, sadly this set only lasted 3-4 years before being replaced with the technology set. Also as well only the 1, 2 & 20p designs remain in circulation. I'm not sure if the £1 coin changed or whether or not it was carried over from the previous set. The 1985 has a special mint mark for the "year of sport", seen on the reverse.

Designs are as follows:

1/2p - Fuschia Flower (last of design for the 1/2p)
1p - Cormorant Bird
2p - Peregrine Falcon
5p - Ragwort or Cushag
10p - Loaghtyn Ram
20p - Three Herrings
50p - Viking Ship (Lymphad Style)
£1 - Unknown (Not Pictured)

1980 - Animals Set - 1980-1984/5

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I do have this set in full (minus the 20p & £1 coin pictured) in a "diamond" finish. This is my joint favourite IOM set (along with the 1985-1988 set). Once again only the 1, 2 & 20p coin still circulated unfortunately but the designs on each are superb. The £1 coin is a later addition although the Silver £1 coin from the previous set was issued in 1980. The 1/2p, 2p & 1980 £1 are missing from this image.

Designs are as follows:

1/2p - Fish, possibly a trout (not pictured)
1p - Manx Cat
2p - Red-Billed chough (not pictured)
5p - Loagthyn Ram
10p - Gyrfalcon Bird
20p - Medieval Norse History
50p - Viking Ship
£1 - Peel Town Commissioners

1979 Series - Millennium Of Tynwald (1976-1979)

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Second set issued in the Royal Mint, similar theme to the first these however have a Map of the IOM in the background. A Slim silver £1 coin was introduced in 1978 & lasted until 1980 as a sort of tester. The design was replaced by the tradional £1 in 1983. This particular set pictured all feature the "Millennium Of Tynwald - 979-1979" mint mark except for the £1 coin which was not included in the set

The Designs are as follows:

1/2p - Herring
1p - Loghtan Sheep
2p - Manx Sheerwater "puffin" bird
5p - Laxey Wheel
10p - Three Legs Of Man
50p - Viking Ship
£1 - Three Legs Of Man with compass points

1971 - First Set (1971-1975)

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The first set of Isle Of Man coins, introduced in 1971. All coins have "New Pence" on them. The designs relate to the history of the Island. The 1p is my favourite from this set (also shown in silver in the image), a similar coin wouldn't come again until the 2000 Millennium set.

Designs are as follows:

1/2p - Cushag Flower
1p - Ring Chain Pattern
2p - Two Falcons
5p - Tower Of Refuge (Later used on the 2005 Series of coins)
10p - Three Legs Of Man
50p - Viking Ship

That's all for now folks, updates will occur once I fill the gaps or if a new set comes out.

Wow. I'm very envious of your wonderful IOM collection. This is a country I collect from when I can, but IOM is hard to come by in Texas. Most of the nicer coins have come from an acquaintance in the UK. This is an amazing set you've put together and you should be very proud of it!

Thanks I am.

Well considering the Isle Of Man isn't too far away from London it's been an absolute chore collecting those. The 2000 set came from Hong Kong of all places, most have come from North West England, Ireland or in change.

As I say a chore but bloody worth it

Great collection of coins. I like all of the designs.

Well, yes ... my catalog says the coin design is a visualization of Douglas (the capital) as a financial center.

Some interesting theme collections you have shown here, thanks! I don't active collect the Isle of Man coins, but quite a few of them sure are nicely designed.

Christian

Thanks, hopefully a new set will be out in a year or two



Thanks, the 1980 & 1985 sets are by far my favourites but the 5p & 50p from the 2000 set & the 20p from the 2007 set are also favourites as well.