The Society awards prizes in recognition of outstanding contributions to British Numismatics. The Society's prizes are outlined below and the specific regulations for each can be found on the regulations page.

Blunt Prize

This prize is named after Christopher Evelyn Blunt (1904-1987) and takes the form of a triennial cash award to an individual, whether a member of the Society or not, who has made a significant recent contribution to the study of numismatics which falls within the Society's remit. Its purpose is principally to encourage younger scholars, and preference is therefore given to suitable candidates under 35 years of age.

North Book Prize

The prize is named after Jeffrey North and is awarded every two years for the best book on British Numismatics. Books eligible for consideration for the prize are those published during the current or three preceding calendar years, copies of which have been received by the joint library of the British Numismatic Society and the Royal Numismatic Society for review. The recipient receives a cash prize, currently of £500.

Previous Recipients

Previous recipients of the above prizes are as follows:

Blunt Prize
1987 M. A. S. Blackburn 1990 E. M. Besly 1993 B. J. Cook 1996 M. R. Allen 1999 P de Jersey 2002 K. Clancy 2005 S. Bhandare 2008 T. Crafter 2011 R. Naismith 2014 R. Kelleher and P. Walton 2017 A. Woods 2020 M. Andrews 2023 J. Porter
North Book Prize
2006  M Allen for The Durham Mint 2008  R Eaglen for The Abbey and Mint of Bury St Edmunds to 1279 2010  Lord Stewartby for English Coins 1180-1551 2012  D. Dykes for Coinage and Currency in Eighteenth-Century Britain: the Provincial Coinage 2014  M. Allen for Mints and Money in Medieval England 2016  P. de Jersey for Coin Hoards in Iron Age Britain 2018  R. Naismith for Medieval European Coinage: Volume 8, Britain and Ireland C.400-1066 2020  J. Sills for ​Divided Kingdoms: The Iron Age Gold Coinage of Southern England  2022  A. Burnett for ‘The Hidden Treasures of this Happy Island.’ A History of Numismatics in Britain from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment".  2024  R. Naismith for "Making Money in the Early Medieval Ages".

Charles I shilling, type D2/2 - for discussion see the BNS Research Blog Article by David Holt: Confirmation of a Previously Noted Variety of a Charles 1 Tower Shilling.