This year marked the Isle of Man TT’s 110th anniversary, an opportunity duly noted by Manx Treasury minister Alf Carran. He therefore commissioned special commemorative £5 collectable coins as souvenirs for TT visitors.
These were to be produced by Manx coinage supplier Tower Mint, which apparently wasn’t made aware that they were time-sensitive. The flip-side of this communication failure was eventual delivery to government coffers on 7 August, two months after all those eager TT fans went home.
Local wags are hoping they’ll be offered as half-price bargains.
And having just admitted to such an embarrassing cock-up, Cannan is reportedly planning to issue another commemorative coin in advance of next year’s TT. But surely his marketing people will advise him that a 111th anniversary doesn’t quite have the same cachet.