Posts by Kate
Australia’s New King Charles III Coin Effigy Revealed!
More than a year after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, The Royal Australian Mint have officially announced the release of their first coins featuring King Charles III.
For the first time in 70 years, and after more than 15.5 billion coins were minted with the face of the late Queen, the Australian $1 coin will feature an effigy of the King.
Credit: AAP
The King’s image
The King’s image that features on these brand new $1 coins will be the official Commonwealth effigy, available for use by all British Commonwealth countries. As with all official portraits of reigning monarchs, the new effigy has been personally approved by King Charles III.
As with our UK coins, this new Australian $1 coin sees the monarch facing the opposite direction to his predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II.
Credit: The Perth Mint
A major change for Australian Coinage
During her reign, six effigies of Queen Elizabeth II have featured on Australian coinage, however the latest change was only 5 years ago. From 1998 to 2018, with the exception of 2000, it was Ian Rank-Broadley’s effigy that featured on Australian coinage.
In 2018, a new effigy of the Queen by Jody Clark was approved and made it’s way onto Australian coins in 2019.
Considering that the Queen Elizabeth effigy only changed fairly recently, the introduction of King Charles III is sure to cause a huge shake up in Australian coinage.
How many will enter circulation?
The final mintage figure of the 2023 Australia $1 is yet to be confirmed, however, The Royal Australian Mint have announced that an estimated 10 million will be circulating by Christmas.
Most Australians will never have held a circulating coin featuring a King on the obverse, so this new issue is guaranteed to attract the attention of not only collectors, but anyone who regularly uses coinage.
The $1 is the only denomination to feature His Majesty at the moment, however The Royal Australian Mint have said that the $2, $5, 10 cent, 20 cent and 50 cent coins will be released gradually next year.
When will we see the King on UK coinage?
Although we’ve already seen the King’s effigy on commemorative UK 50p, £2 and £5 coins since the Queen Elizabeth II Memoriam coin range last year, it’s just been announced that all UK coins are set to change. As the full range of circulating coins from the 1p to the £2 will not only feature the King, but are also set to receive brand new reverse designs.
As perhaps the biggest change we’ve seen to UK coinage in decades, we’re expecting a huge collecting rush for the New UK Coinage for King Charles III and can’t wait to see the new coins when they’re released.
Keep an eye on our social media and website as we’ll be updating you as soon as we have more information on these exciting new coins.
Celebrating a true hero – The UK Mary Seacole £5
For nearly 100 years, the story of an incredible, heroic woman was forgotten, but Mary Seacole is finally receiving the recognition she deserves by being celebrated on a UK coin.
A true likeness
This brand new UK £5 coin has been issued to mark Mary Seacole’s selfless efforts during the Crimean War, where she cared for sick and injured soldiers.
The reverse design by Sandra Deiana is based on a genuine photograph of Seacole. The photograph was taken around 1870 and is now held at Winchester College.
Caring in the crossfire
From the age of 12, Mary Seacole helped her mother, a nurse who specialised in traditional Jamaican medicine. Inspired by her mother and following the death of her husband, Mary focussed on caring for the sick.
Credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Her medical expertise was invaluable during the Crimean War, where, along with Thomas Day, she opened a ‘British Hotel’ near the battlefields. She devoted her time and resources to caring for sick and injured soldiers, even riding on horseback into the battlefields under fire to help men from both sides of the conflict.
The 2023 UK Mary Seacole £5 has been created in collaboration with ‘The Mary Seacole Trust’ to pay tribute to her dedication to helping others.
‘The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands’
In 1957, Seacole penned a memoir, fittingly named ‘The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands’ which detailed her humanitarian contributions during her 75 years. It wasn’t until the 1970s that people started to discover her story and realise how much of an impact she made on history.
Seacole was commemorated with a memorial in 2016 which is located in front of St Thomas’ Hospital. The sculpture was designed by none other than Martin Jennings, the creator of the King Charles III effigy that we see on UK coinage.
Credit: Peter O’Connor aka anemoneprojectors, via Wikimedia Commons
Secure your 2023 UK Mary Seacole £5
You can celebrate Mary Seacole’s eventful life by securing the 2023 UK Mary Seacole £5 in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for just £13.99 (+p&p) >>
Step into Narnia and discover The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 50p
Cast your mind back to childhood, a time of bedtime stories and wild imaginations…
A story that most of us vividly remember is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the inspiration behind the latest UK 50p.
An introduction to children’s fantasy literature
First published in 1950, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first novel in The Chronicles of Narnia collection, and is perhaps the best known book by author C. S. Lewis. For many, it was an introduction to the fantasy literature genre, with characters such as Mr Tumnus and Aslan holding a special place in our memories.
Credit: Pixabay, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
A magical design
It’s actually Mr Tumnus who features on this brand new UK 50p, alongside Lucy Pevensie who can be seen walking arm in arm through a snowy Narnia together.
Pauline Baynes’ design, which is based on illustrations from the original publication, is the perfect tribute to this classic tale of fantasy fiction. If you have fond memories of the story, or if you just can’t resist newly issued UK coins, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 50p would make an excellent addition to collection.
Secure yours here for just £5.99 (+p&p) >>
Previous UK coins based on literature
Beatrix Potter 50ps
The Beatrix Potter 50ps are perhaps some of the most popular 50p coins amongst collectors. For many collectors, these are the coins that inspired them to start the hobby, especially younger collectors.
The Beatrix Potter 50p series started in 2016 with the Beatrix Potter 50p, issued to mark 150 years since the birth of the legendary author. The series continued over the next 4 years, with 50ps featuring beloved characters from the famous tales, such as Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, Mr Jeremy Fisher and Flopsy Bunny. And of course, Peter Rabbit himself made an appearance in the series, not once, but four times!
Winnie the Pooh 50ps
Another literary favourite, Winnie the Pooh, featured on a series of 50p coins issued between 2020 and 2022. Characters from the Hundred Acre Wood such as Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore joined Winnie the Pooh himself in this 9 coin series, which proved incredibly popular with both new and seasoned collectors.
All silver proof versions of the 2020 Winnie the Pooh 50p sold out in less than 12 hours, and the 2022 Eeyore 50p sold out in a matter of hours at The Royal Mint.
And the list goes on, as literary characters such as the Gruffalo, the Snowman, Paddington Bear and even authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens have also featured on our UK coins – amongst some of the favourite releases for many collectors.
Don’t miss out!
So, when you consider the popularity of other UK coins that have been based on children’s literature, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 50p is set to be highly sought after.
