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The designers behind the faces on our coins
In the last century, there have been 9 different designers who have created the effigies of monarchs that feature on UK and Commonwealth coin obverses.
The most recent change in designer came after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, when the baton was passed from Jody Clark to Martin Jennings to create the UK coinage portrait of King Charles III.
Let’s look back at those who designed the portraits that feature on every coin in our pockets…
George William de Saulles
Credit: Look and Learn.
George William de Saulles worked at The Royal Mint from 1892 as ‘Engraver to the Mint’, engraving the dies for what would become known as the ‘Old Head’ or ‘Widowed Head’ coinage of 1893, featuring a portrait of Queen Victoria. de Saulles went on to design the obverse portrait of Edward VII, used on UK coins from 1902 until the end of his reign in 1910.
Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
When George V became King in 1910, Australian born sculptor Bertram Mackennal was responsible for the design on the coronation medal, the obverse of UK currency, postage stamps and military honours for King George V.
Mackennal was also commissioned to produce several monuments and statues around the world, including his home country of Australia, India and Scotland. He was appointed M.V.O. in 1912 and knighted in 1921, making him the first Australian-born artist to be so honoured.
(Thomas) Humphrey Paget
Credit: Royal Mint Museum
Humphrey Paget designed the effigy for King Edward VIII, however due to his short reign and abdication, Paget’s designs never reached the minting stage. Some trial pieces did find their way out of the mint for testing purposes, and these are thought to be some of the most rare and collectible pieces of all sterling coinage.
Mary Gillick
Credit: Royal Mint Museum
Mary Gillick was the first artist to design a Queen Elizabeth II portrait, and remains the only female designer of UK coinage obverse effigies. Her portrait, used on UK coinage between 1953 and 1970, shows Her Majesty uncrowned and was the last to be used on pre-decimal coinage.
Arnold Machin
Credit: Royal Mint Museum
Arnold Machin designed the royal portrait which featured on the first UK decimal coins from 1968 to 1984. He also created the reverse design of the 1972 Silver Wedding Crown, the obverse and reverse of the 1977 Silver Jubilee Crown and the royal portrait which appeared on definitive British stamps between 1967 and 2023.
As well as designing UK coinage and stamps, Arnold Machin’s designs were also used on coins in Rhodesia in 1964, Canada between 1965-1889, Australia between 1966-1984 and New Zealand in 1967-1985.
Raphael Maklouf
Credit: Tower Mint
In 1982, The Royal Mint asked 17 artists to submit models of Queen Elizabeth II to be considered a replacement for Arnold Machin’s then-outdated likeness of the Queen on UK and Commonwealth coinage. The Royal Mint Advisory Committee selected Israeli-born British sculptor Raphael Maklouf’s design, now known as the ‘Third Portrait’ to take over, and it featured on UK and Commonwealth coins until from 1985 until 1997.
Ian Rank-Broadley
Credit: Tatler
Ian Rank-Broadley won The Royal Mint’s competition to design a new Queen Elizabeth II effigy in 1997, making him the designer of the ‘Forth Portrait’. Rank-Broadley was influenced by Pistrucci’s portrait of George III which was issued in 1817, where the head crowds the field of the coin. His portrait featured on UK and Commonwealth coinage between 1998 and 2015.
Jody Clark
Credit: The Mirror
In 2015, Jody Clark’s submission to a design competition was chosen to become the fifth coin portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. At 33 years old, he was the youngest designer to have designed a portrait for British coinage. He was also the first designer to use computer-aided design software when creating his portrait. Despite the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, Clark’s portrait continues to feature on the UK coins featuring Her Majesty which currently co-circulate with new King Charles III coins.
Martin Jennings
Credit: The Royal Mint
Martin Jennings is a British sculptor renowned for his public sculptures across the UK. His most notable and admired works include statues of prominent writers and poets, such as John Betjeman at St Pancras Station and Charles Dickens in Guildhall Square, Portsmouth.
The Royal Mint commissioned Jennings to design the first definitive coinage portrait of King Charles III in 2022 which features on all new UK King Charles III commemorative and definitive coins. Jennings also created a special crowned effigy version of the UK Coronation 50p and £5 which is only available on the collector editions of these coins, setting it apart from the Coronation 50ps you can find in your change.
Find out more about your coins
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use!
Can you complete the shield!?
It’s been 16 years since Matthew Dent redesigned the UK’s definitive coins to create the Royal Shield of Arms design, and we now have the New UK Coinage for King Charles III which will replace these designs.
So it’s hard to believe there are still some people who don’t actually realise that these coins can be pieced together to complete the shield!
Time for change
In 2005, it was decided that our definitive UK coinage was due an overhaul, and The Royal Mint ran a competition for members of the public to design the new coins. Out of 4,000 designs that were submitted, The Royal Mint Advisory Committee selected Matthew Dent’s Royal Shield designs as the winner in 2008.
Speaking about his designs, Dent said “I felt that the solution to The Royal Mint’s brief lay in a united design, united in terms of theme, execution and coverage over the surface of the coins.”
Using all the coins from the 1p to the 50p and fitting them together like a jig-saw, the complete shield is revealed – as seen on the £1 coin design issued from 2008 until 2015.
Of course, the old round pound was replaced by the 12 sided Nations of the Crown £1 in 2017 and have now been withdrawn from circulation. However, the definitive 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p shield coins can still be found in your change, meaning the Royal Shield can still be collected and completed.
In fact, I bet if you were to check the change in your pocket right now, you’d be surprised by how much of the shield you’ll already be able to piece together!
Complete the Shield
So, why not try collecting the Royal Shield coins and see if you can complete the shield? And, if you’d like to give yourself even more of a challenge, how about collecting the whole shield for each year, starting with the coins issued in 2008!
To help you on your collecting journey, you can secure your own Royal Shield Collector Pack, which includes the Royal Shield 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p and 20p – all you have to do is find the 50p in your change to complete the shield.
Secure your Royal Shield Collector Pack for JUST £4.99 (+p&p) >>
Change Checker LIVE 50p Swap is coming to Cardiff Comic Con!
We’re extremely excited to announce that we’re bringing our Change Checker Live 50p Swap to Cardiff Comic Con!
Join us on Saturday 19th October and Sunday 20th October at Cardiff Comic Con in the Utilita Arena where we’ll be giving collectors the chance to swap ANY UK 50p coin for a brand new Brilliant Uncirculated UK 50p.
Usually, collectors only get the chance to swap their coins for one new coin design at our live swap events, however this time is a bit different…
We’re pitting two extremely popular 50p series against each other and giving you the choice of either a Star Wars™ Character Duo 50p OR a Star Wars™ Spacecraft 50p!
Our Brilliant Uncirculated UK 50ps will usually set you back £5.99, plus postage – so this is your chance to get your hands on one in superior collector quality for just face value!
We’ll be taking 1,600 coins with us to swap over the weekend – half made from a mix of Star Wars™ Character Duo 50ps and the other half a mix of Star Wars™ Spacecraft 50ps – but which series will prove most popular?
Which 50p series would you chose?
At Change Checker HQ, we’ve been having quite the debate about which of these Star Wars™ series is the best, and to settle the argument once and for all, we need your help!
If you come to see us at the show, you’ll get the choice to swap your 50p for either a Star Wars™ Character Duo 50p OR a Star Wars™ Spacecraft 50p, and once you’ve made your decision, we’ll ask you to vote by placing a token in our voting tubes.
And if you’re not coming, don’t worry – we’ll be sharing the vote results at regular intervals on our social media channels, so make sure you stay tuned to keep up to date!
Cardiff Comic Con
Comic Con is a fan convention where attendees celebrate films, cult television series, video games, anime, cosplay and comic books. Cardiff Comic Con boasts around 6,000 guests each year, with some of the biggest names in the pop culture industry attending.
Credit: filmandcomicconcardiff.com
Find out more about what’s going on at this year’s Cardiff Comic Con here >>
FAQs
Where can I find you at the show?
Our exact location at the show is yet to be confirmed, but we’ll update this blog as soon as we know more information.
How many coins can I swap?
Such is the popularity of our Live Coin Swaps, and to ensure it’s fair for everybody, we’re limiting the number of swaps to strictly 1 swap per person.
Can I reserve a coin before I arrive?
To ensure a fair swap event for everyone, we do not offer reservations of coins. It is a strictly first come first served basis.
Will you have other coins with you at the show?
As well as the coins for swapping, we’ll have each of the 8 Star Wars™ 50p coins available to buy, along with some other coins we think collectors will enjoy.
Where can I buy tickets for the show?
You can buy tickets on the Cardiff Comic Con website >>
Can’t make it?
Whilst we hope to see you at our Live Swap, if you’re unable to come along, you can still secure these coins for your collection in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
