Member Article

Shining legacy

Northumberland Wildlife Trust has received a legacy of 52 silver coins, which form the Conservation Coin Collection with each featuring an endangered animal from a country and a notable person from that country, usually the head of state.

They are 38.61mm in diameter, have a fineness of .925, weigh 28.28gms and are silver. There is also a wooden storage box which will hold some of them, but not all.

They were issued by Spink and the Royal Mint on behalf of the World Wildlife Fund and International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources with one being sold each month to form a collection.

They were available from the mid 70’s onwards and the wildlife charity has records of purchase for many of them, plus six books on the different coins and countries.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust is now inviting financial offers for the collection and believes they would be very appealing to wildlife lovers. To place an offer, or arrange a viewing of them, email Sheila Sharp, Head of Marketing and Fundraising at sheila.sharp@northwt.org.uk

The coins were left to the by Trust one of its members, Miss Zoe Jenkins, who lived in Corbridge, and who was Head of Religious Education at Newcastle College of Education (later to become Northumbria University) and was for 10 years, Senior Tutor for Reader Education in the Diocese of Newcastle. A knowledgeable gardener, horsewoman and steadfast conservationist, it was the express wish of Miss Jenkins that the coins should be sold to help the charity’s conservation work in the Region.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sue Bishop .