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Daily Mirror
10-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
'Old coins' you could have at home worth over £100,000
One of these coins is still in circulation, while the others could be hiding in coin jars at home An expert has urged people to look out for three 'old coins' you could have at home that are highly sought after by collectors. Combined, these coins could be worth more than £100,000, and one is potentially still in circulation. Speaking in a video uploaded to social media platform TikTok, a coin aficionado known as the Coin Collecting Wizard detailed exactly what to look for in order to spot these pieces. The first coin he listed is dated 1905, making it unlikely to be in your wallet at the moment. However, it could be buried in an old coin jar or up in the attic. The expert said: 'Random old coins that will make you rich. The 1905 half crown from the UK.' This coin is made of silver and features a shield on its reverse side (the tails side). On its other side is the image of Edward VII. It is particularly valuable due to the fact that it is so rare. He continued: 'With only 166,008 ever made you can easily grab between £450 and £10,000, depending on the condition.' Next, he alerted viewers to the most valuable coin of all - the 1933 penny. It is thought only six or seven of these were ever minted. This is because, at the time, no new pennies were actually needed that year. This coin depicts an image of Britannia on its reverse and George V on its obverse. He said: 'The rarity of the 1933 UK penny makes it highly sought after by collectors and its scarcity contributes significantly to its market value.' This could be worth £100,000 if found. 'If you happen to have a 1933 UK penny in your possession, then you are 100 per cent rich and can easily sell this coin for over £100,000,' he said. Finally, he described a more modern coin that can still be used as legal tender. This ordinary-looking 2p coin features the words 'new pence' instead of 'two pence.' However, it has to be from 1983 to be especially valuable. The expert added: 'The 1983 'new pence' two pence coin from the United Kingdom is considered rare due to a specific transition in the design of the coin. In 1983 the Royal Mint in the UK began the process of changing the inscription on the two-pence coin from 'new pence' to 'two pence'. If you find this rare coin, you are looking at £1,000 plus.' We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice here
Mint
07-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
UK Military Rhetoric Doesn't Match Fiscal Reality
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Not long before World War I, HMS Dreadnought, a battleship that made all existing vessels obsolete, was launched at Portsmouth in the presence of the King-Emperor Edward VII. Fire-breathing patriots soon took up the cry, 'We want eight and we won't wait.' Winston Churchill, then a young home secretary in a government committed to spending more on welfare, wryly noted of the popular clamor for a naval race with Germany: 'The Admiralty had demanded six ships; the economists offered four; and we finally compromised on eight.' British debates about defense spending follow a familiar trajectory, although this time it's politicians, rather than civilians, insisting that more should be spent on firepower. A military revolution in warfare is underway, too. Drones, off-the-shelf technology far cheaper than Dreadnoughts, are being deployed to lethal effect on the battlefields of Ukraine and further afield - the daring 'Spider Web' raid last weekend destroyed as much as a third of Russia's strategic bombing force based thousands of miles away from Europe. But the UK needs to replace expensive military hardware too, and make good shortages of munitions. Economists fear the government can't afford the outlay without large tax increases. Who will prevail? In a speech prior to the publication of his government's Strategic Defence Review (SDR) this week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer sounded eerily reminiscent of an old-fashioned jingoist, circa 1914. Britain, he said, faces a threat 'more serious, more immediate and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War.' The UK needs to move to 'war-fighting readiness.' Alas, reality and rhetoric don't match. UK defense spending is planned to rise to only 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027, with a notional ambition to reach 3% by the mid-2030s. In the 1980s, at the end of the Cold War, it stood at almost 4%. When the dogged Defence Secretary John Healey attempted to impose a fixed timeline for a bigger military budget, he was immediately slapped down by the Treasury. Within days, however, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization trumped Starmer. The Western Alliance has reached near consensus on a 5% commitment, with 3.5% going directly on the armed services and a further 1.5% on related spending. On Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, ordered Starmer to saddle up, saying 'it is important that the UK gets there.' On Tuesday, German Defense Secretary Boris Pistorius talked of raising expenditure by annual increments to reach 5% of GDP, aimed at creating the strongest conventional army in Europe. At home, the popular hue and cry is not for an arms race with Russia, which remains a niche preoccupation at Westminster and in security circles, but for reversing cuts to pensioners' winter-fuel allowances. Labour's backbenchers oppose projected welfare reductions. Meanwhile, the economists warn that the bond market won't countenance more borrowing to pay for guns or butter - gilt yields remain elevated amid jitters over the Trump administration's ballooning deficit. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves rules out raising taxes in the autumn — though few believe her. Something's got to give. UK prime ministers have a habit of over-promising and under-delivering on military commitments. Starmer's Conservative predecessors squandered the Cold War peace dividend for over a decade even as Russia rearmed and attacked its neighbors. Wishful thinking can also lead to embarrassment. Starmer recently proclaimed 'a coalition of the willing' ready to take the place of the US in policing a ceasefire in Ukraine by dispatching a 'reassurance force.' Washington, however, refused to offer air cover — and in any case the British army has shrunk to 70,000, levels last seen before the war with Napoleon — so the UK can no longer assemble an expeditionary force. The best it can offer Ukraine is a support mission. As for crippling the Russian war effort, the UK, like other European nations, sanctioned Russian oil and gas after its invasion of Ukraine. But according to a new study by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), the value of Russian crude oil and liquid natural gas shipped under British ownership or insurance since the war began tops £200 billion ($270 billion). A dark fleet of ships working for the Russians supplements the trade. The government is wary of severing these links for fear of triggering another energy price rise spiral and a round of the ruinous inflation and cost of living crisis that sank its Tory predecessor. To be fair, the SDR has met a mostly warm reception from military specialists. At least it puts the focus back on the European theater — previous reviews suggested fanciful scenarios in which British aircraft carriers, without a full complement of aircraft and naval escorts, might be deployed to Asia. With commendable honesty, the authors of this week's report also own up to 'the hollowing out of the Armed Forces warfighting capability' and cite inadequate stockpiles of munitions after years of 'underinvestment.' Without a rapid improvement in military housing and in the absence of conscription, army numbers are unlikely to rise. With its suggestion that the UK should build up its maritime forces — namely the Trident nuclear deterrent and the commissioning of 12 new attack submarines — the SDR implies the UK is set on going back to a strategic stance familiar to Churchill and his contemporaries in 1914, known to historians as the British Way of Warfare, avoiding a continental military commitment at scale. Today, however, the Royal Navy no longer rules the waves as it did in 1914. That means cutting back on the rhetoric and working closely with allies to deploy the few troops available for land-based conflict. 'This is a once-in-a-generation inflection point for collective security in Europe,' concludes the SDR. Unless British public opinion changes, however, the UK's neglect of its military needs and obligations looks set to continue. More from Bloomberg Opinion: This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Martin Ivens is the editor of the Times Literary Supplement. Previously, he was editor of the Sunday Times of London and its chief political commentator. More stories like this are available on
Telegraph
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
A gentleman's guide to three-piece suit etiquette
The three-piece suit needs a bit of rescuing, the format having been hijacked by the Instagram manosphere and estate agents. We are an awfully long way from Indiana Jones in his Raiders of the Lost Ark professorial garb and, like a lot of the sartorial canon, various codes have been forgotten. The first thing to know is that a three-piece suit is the least formal of suit styles, perfectly demonstrated by Tom Hardy with his excellent and discerning use of RRL, a range from Ralph Lauren that's designed to be somewhat informal and more 'rustic'. This is the rule for both lounge suit and black tie, followed by double-breasted suits and two-piece single-breasted varieties. However, this wasn't always the case. The wearing of a waistcoat was essential in the nascent years of suiting because of a decree in October 1666 by King Charles II, mandating the wearing of a waistcoat for gentlemen. We know this because it was noted in Samuel Pepys' diary, reminding us of a time where people remembered to memorialise the more important matters. In the Regency era to much of the Victorian, order of the day for established houses was morning dress (a riding outfit - the morning was when gentlemen rode out) or frock coat in the daytime, and white tie in the evening, all requiring a waistcoat. As morning dress was replaced by the lounge suit and the frock coat was more or less isolated to the Court, the waistcoat was no longer a certainty in a man's daily wardrobe. In 1856, Edward VII commissioned Henry Poole to make him an 'evening lounge suit' in midnight blue, as he disliked dressing in white tie and preferred the growing trend of tailless jackets. Black tie was born, and waistcoats also began to fall out of favour for evening wear. More on 'Dirty Bertie' later. This heritage might explain the consensus that the wearing of a three-piece suit is occasion wear, which is why it's so prevalent at weddings. The hard-man credentials of Peaky Blinders have also made a lot of men feel confident that it's an agreeable way to dress up without losing any machismo. Whether you align with Tom Hardy and wear it casually, or want to wear the three-piece for something formal, there are rules that need to be kept in mind. Button know-how This is where we return to our wonderfully short-lived but sartorially consequential monarch, Edward VII. The question surrounding waistcoats often has to do with the bottom button. There are various disputes around the origin of this, but allow me to dispel things once and for all. Edward VII was perfectly able to wear the bottom button done up, no matter how large he was, his tailor would have taken it into account and an extra button would have made no difference at all. In fact, it was popped open for riding. This could easily have been for comfort but that is not necessarily a weight issue, rather the traditions of higher buttoning on riding garments - see morning coats, paddock-cut jackets and hunting pinks - which all need raised buttons for comfort in a sedentary position. The unbuttoning of the waistcoat therefore indicated you were a man of good standing who rode, and so everyone wanted to follow suit. Just to confuse things a bit, this does not apply to double-breasted waistcoats; they must all be done up. The smartest button stance is a three-button (six altogether) angled stance in a V shape, rather than the straight buttoning you see often from fashion designers. Fit check One of the biggest fashion faux pas is the sight of a man's shirt peeking out beneath the lapel and above the trousers. It is as much of a sartorial shortfall as the triangle of death – the triangle of white above the waistline and single-breasted jacket button, betraying the jacket as too small. This is very much how a certain tight-suited, Love Island hopeful might dress. One issue is that many brands make trousers that have what is called 'a low rise', i.e. the distance between the crotch and the top of the zip is short. What a man needs are trousers that are cut higher, ideally with pleats and held up by braces, to avoid this sloppy look. The lapel debate Old school aesthetes like my father, the kind that see everything through the prism of what is allowed in the officer's mess, would die on the hill against lapels on waistcoats. The lapel debate has more to do with opinion rather than actual etiquette, and truthfully, far be it from me to speak ill of my father's opinions on style, I think this is a misstep. It is true that a single-breasted lapel should have a very small lapel, if one at all, but a double-breasted waistcoat must have one, and the prouder the better. Accessorising The Roaring Lion by Yousuf Karsh is considered one of the greatest portrait photographs of all time; Winston Churchill's moody look is because just before it was taken, Karsh removed Churchill's cigar from his mouth. What stands out the most in this image is the chain which travels across the pockets, dipping to create a W shape. Whether a pocket watch, a lighter, a Champagne swizzle stick or cigar cutter, the chain is legitimate accessorising for waistcoats. The chain should travel from the left pocket to the first button hole that sits above the line of the pocket, and then if there is a fob, it should dangle down. If long enough, it can then be passed to the opposite pocket. One form of accessorising is a more outre design of waistcoat. This is, and should remain, the domain of the prefects of Eton College, known as 'Pop', who are allowed to wear whatever design of waistcoat they like in order to distinguish their authority (and boy do they take advantage of that freedom). You also had Sixth Form Select who were the 'other' prefects, selected due to academic achievement, and they could wear silver buttons. Keep it simple on civvy street; yours should match the jacket and trouser of the suit, and with morning dress should be a pastel colour such as sky blue. Where to find inspiration Watch every episode of Jeeves & Wooster for a categoric reminder of proper classic style, and there is plenty of three-piece action in there for you to see. Further watching should be the aforementioned Indiana Jones, Jude Law as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter offshoot Fantastical Beasts (seriously, a great men's style reference), and the original Great Gatsby. For non-fiction references, look to Churchill of course, and then his Tory successor Anthony Eden. Tom Hardy is definitely a solid inspiration for men who want to avoid the dandyish look. Just remember that tweed and heavier wools are much more preferable for a three-piece suit, so in the summer look for what are known as 'high twist wools', which allow for breathability. Full linen will crease too easily, so travel fabrics like Fresco wool are ideal. The three-piece suit may feel like dress up, but perhaps with a little bit of historic enlightenment and better knowledge of the rules, you can channel your Bertie or Tom Hardy and never let anyone take your cigar without asking permission.
Times
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
The Savoy has had a major facelift — I was first in to see it
Grande dames are not like other hotels. There's something about knowing they've been at the epicentre of history for centuries, welcoming the rich and famous and providing a stage for artistic endeavour and political intrigue, that sprinkles extra stardust over a stay. There are as many cultural reference points as places to rest your head, so even if you've never stepped into the Savoy's pitch-perfect lobby with its chequerboard-tiled floor, polished dark woods and art deco bas-reliefs, as famous names from Edward VII to Lucien Laviscount have, chances are you still feel like you know the old girl. Though now might just be the time to get better acquainted. The Savoy, which sits on the Strand a stone's throw from the River Thames, is discreetly emerging from a delightful facelift of its bedrooms and some public spaces that began last August — and I'm the first journalist to experience it. As ever with grande dames, the brief to the design studio BradyWilliams was to celebrate the hotel's heritage while reinventing it as relevant. That's a balancing act that requires footwork as fancy as Fred Astaire's when he danced on the hotel's rooftop in 1923. When the Savoy opened in 1889, it took the helm as the capital's first luxury hotel. It was also the first with electric lights, hot and cold running water in bedrooms and, drum roll, a lift. It took up to nine minutes to reach the fifth floor with its operator poised to wave smelling salts under the noses of passengers overcome with the excitement of it all. The Red Lift still looks much as it did 135 years ago, though it's considerably faster these days. I'm intrigued to see what's changed, given that a whopping £220 million was spent on a renovation just 15 years ago. I was the first journalist to review on that occasion too. Back then, I loved the location and the service, but I wasn't wowed by the bedrooms or convinced by the Thames Foyer, the venue for afternoon tea, which was dominated by a white piano in a centre stage winter-garden gazebo. Bit tacky. And I was infuriated by the £9.99 charge for internet use. Remember those bad old days? It seems dapper Franck Arnold, a fearless Frenchman who joined this most English of institutions as managing director in September 2020, wasn't overly impressed either. 'The Thames Foyer closed at 6pm. The space is at the heart of the hotel so those going to the Beaufort Bar or River Restaurant had to walk through darkness and skirt around the gazebo,' he said with a contempt his compatriots usually reserve for Brits attempting to speak their language. The Foyer's replacement, the Gallery, is a vast improvement. My eye is now drawn down a catwalk central aisle to a glorious marble bar, guarded by sky-high palm trees, that stylishly full-stops this space. Its burnt sienna and clotted cream palette, intimate banquettes, antique mirrors and flattering peach-tinted lighting hit exactly the right note of joyfulness. Original moulded panels have been adorned with dancing figures bringing modern energy, while the new reddish-brown paint on the Corinthian columns emphasises the room's airiness. And, crucially, it's now open from breakfast until late-night cocktails. The tourists and regulars joining me at afternoon tea (£90pp; an extra £20 to add a glass of Nyetimber and £25 for champagne) clearly approve. Waiters introduce themselves by name, are chatty but not intrusive, most suggest I make myself 'comfy', an adjective that brings a welcome informality to the grandeur. They also encourage gluttony of the limitless supply of goodies, from coronation chicken finger sandwiches and chocolate and hazelnut cake to the Savoy's signature, freshly baked scones, brought out at precisely 12.04pm each day (in a nod to the trad 4pm teatime) and, controversially, served with lemon curd as well as strawberry jam. Its evening menu is equally unconventional so I skip the hotel's three Gordon Ramsay dining venues: the romantic River Restaurant, the Michelin-starred Restaurant 1890 and the sexy Mad Men energy of the Savoy Grill to flap out my napkin at the Gallery again. Sharing plates such as sole tacos with hispi cabbage (£18) make tasty starters. I bypass old-school burgers (£36) and club sandwiches (£34) and trendy Korean-spiced cauliflower steak (£28) in favour of the intriguing chicken tikka pie (£34). It arrives with a glossy crust where the steam funnel doubles as the 'o' spelling out Savoy. The meat is magnificently tender, the sauce wickedly spicy and the creamy mashed potato supremely comforting. • London's loveliest luxury hotels I'm too full for pudding, but not for a nightcap so I sashay through to the Beaufort Bar. Taylor Swift must have loved its showstopping jet-black and gold decor when she posed for a Vanity Fair photoshoot here. It's as in-your-face glamorous as any Eras set and still feels as fresh and thrilling as it did when first unveiled in 2010. A stark contrast to the more famous American Bar, a tourist trap where the muddy browns and blues have remained unchanged for decades and feel sadly dated. Cocktails in both are excellent. Try the Since 1986 (£23), named after the year the hotel's beloved Tony Cortegaca joined as a doorman. Its blend of rum, white port, pineapple and lime is both sweet and sharp, just as a good gatekeeper should be. Savoy cocktails are generously poured (read: lethal), so it's definitely bedtime. Rooms are being renovated in stages. Of the 162 Edwardian-inspired ones, 116 have had makeovers so far, their boring pastels and old-fashioned florals replaced by contemporary grey and tangerine for everything, including the Nespresso machines. They are delicious, stealth-wealth sanctuaries, with no impenetrably complicated iPads to control lighting etc. Some have heart-stopping views over the Thames, the London Eye and Big Ben. I'm even more excited about the 97 new-look, art deco rooms, which are on the Strand side of the hotel. Their revamp starts next year but I had a sneak peek at the prototype. It's a beauty, decorated in golds, caramels and olives, including dramatic ombré curtains. Throughout, the marble bathrooms will be largely untouched, save for cosmetic touches such as artwork and mirrors. That's not about stinting but sustainability. The Savoy is determined to live up to its legacy as a hotel innovator. The focus now is environmental so its entire energy supply comes from renewable sources and all-new wiring includes updates such as sensors that turn off air conditioning when a room is empty. Elsewhere, AI tools track and reduce food waste, which, added to other recycling and reuse initiatives, means less than 2 per cent of waste goes to landfill. The hotel is gunning to be carbon neutral by 2028. It's an admirable ambition. If the hotel reworks the American Bar and goes back to the drawing board for its woeful wellness offering — the pool is an underwhelming 10 metres and the spa an Eighties throwback, the Post Office may be inclined, as it was in 1959, when in receipt of a letter addressed to 'The Manager of the Greatest Hotel in London' to deliver it to the Savoy. This article contains affiliate links, which can earn us revenue Susan d'Arcy was a guest of the Savoy, which has B&B doubles from £800. Newly refurbished rooms are bookable from Monday June 9 (
Daily Mail
05-06-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Where are Ireland's Crown Jewels? New Mail podcast delves into one of history's greatest unsolved mysteries
Podcast All episodes Play on Apple Spotify On the latest episode of the Mail's Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things podcast, historian Kate Williams and Royal biographer Robert Hardman investigate one of Ireland's greatest unsolved mysteries. In 1907, Ireland was part of the British Empire and followed the customs of the British monarchy. One such custom was the use of Crown Jewels, important ceremonial treasures, to bestow Knighthoods upon members of the Irish aristocracy. Ireland's Crown Jewels were kept safe in Dublin Castle by The Order of St Patrick on behalf of Edward VII, the King of Britain at the time. The collection comprised a diamond pendant and badge, five gold collars, and nearly 400 precious stones. The Order of St Patrick's jewels, as they are known, have an estimated value today of nearly $20 million. Despite the castle being under constant surveillance, the treasures went missing on July 6, sending Edward VII into a fury and creating an Empire-wide manhunt. Even though financial rewards were offered for information on their whereabouts, the Crown Jewels remain missing to this day. Search for 'Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things' now, wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released every Thursday. The Vanishing of the Irish Crown Jewels Edward VII was scheduled to visit Ireland in July 1907 to bestow a knighthood upon Lord Castletown. The jewels would have been used in the ceremony. Historian Kate Williams told the podcast how the jewels were kept secure for the upcoming Royal visit. 'They were kept very carefully', Williams said. 'A man called Sir Arthur Vickers, The Ulster King of Arms oversees them. They are held at Bedford Tower in Dublin Castle. 'They seem very secure – they're in a strong room, alongside Ireland's Sword of State. There are only seven keys to get into the tower and two keys to enter the strong room. Everyone thinks the security is foolproof.' Williams then explained how the theft was discovered and the accusations surrounding the character of Sir Arthur Vickers, the treasure's protector. 'The jewels are found to be missing on July 6 – they haven't been seen since the 11th of June. 'Vickers was accused of being careless. Many people began to claim that he had given them access to the tower and that there were various security lapses. 'On one occasion, Vickers had gotten drunk, and a young man had taken the keys to the safe. He then stole the jewels and sent them back to Vickers by post as a joke.' The heist was carried out completely undetected. Due to the King's public anger and huge media speculation, a strange cast of characters began offering to help locate the stolen treasure. 'Psychics say they know where they are, and people begin hunting fruitlessly around graveyards. 'Arthur Conan Doyle, the Sherlock Holmes author, offers to help. He's a distant cousin of Vickers.' The police launched a nationwide investigation to find the jewels. A reward of £1000 was offered for information, worth around £80,000 today. The authorities' prime suspect was Francis Richard Shackleton, the brother of famous Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Williams told the podcast why suspicions centered around him. 'Apparently, he was in great financial difficulty', the historian said. 'As Dublin Herald of Arms, he had gotten hold of a key to the safe and had made a copy. The problem for the police was, he had a good alibi. 'He wasn't actually in the country at the time of the robbery.' Shackleton later defrauded an aristocrat, Lord Ronald Gower, of his fortune in 1910 and was sentenced to fifteen months' hard labour for the crime. One theory states that the reason why the heist was never solved was that Shackleton, a known homosexual at a time when it was illegal, had used Dublin Castle for liaisons with high-profile figures in Irish society. Further investigations into his character were abandoned because pursuing that line of inquiry could have implicated members of the aristocracy in illegal sex acts at a time when British rule over Ireland was fiercely challenged. The mystery of the jewels of St Patrick's remains unsolved.
