17 April 2023
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The Royal Mint recently unveiled a range of commemorative coins to celebrate the Coronation including a 50p and £5 coin.
The commemorative coronation coin range features a crowned effigy of His Majesty The King designed by artist and sculptor Martin Jennings – the first crowned effigy of His Majesty to feature on a coin.
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The effigy of King Charles III for non-commemorative coins was unveiled following His Majesty’s Accession late last year and in line with tradition, The King is shown not wearing regalia.
The new, crowned coin effigy has been created specifically for the Coronation, ahead of the historic event and will feature on the commemorative range produced by The Royal Mint to mark the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The crowned effigy is reserved specifically for collectable, commemorative coins and will be reserved for very special collections moving forwards.
Tudor Crown portrait
The portrait features the Tudor Crown which was personally selected by His Majesty The King for the portrait. Although the Tudor crown was destroyed in the 1640s it is still used heraldically and has been used on previous crowned portraits of Kings from the 20th century. The Tudor Crown also features on His Majesty’s cypher.
Martin Jennings said:
‘Following my work on the uncrowned coin effigy of His Majesty, I am delighted to have had the opportunity to work on a crowned version for the coronation range. Each detail of the crown has to be scrupulously correct so it has taken considerable work to get it right. I’m proud to have had the opportunity to realise a design that is both dignified and celebratory for this historic occasion.’
Westminster Abbey 50p
The new, highly collectable 50p featuring the iconic Westminster Abbey has been designed by Royal Mint designer Natasha Jenkins, marking the third time one of her designs has been used on a UK coin.
Natasha Jenkins, Product Designer at The Royal Mint, said:
‘I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to work on this project. I was inspired to feature Westminster Abbey as it plays such an iconic role in the coronation, so I chose to opt for a stylised line drawing of Westminster Abbey that is instantly recognisable with Britain, along with King Charles’ cypher and crown to mark him being crowned as King.
‘I am always aware of finishing touches during the design stage. This is why I chose a linear design, as I knew the negative areas of the design would be polished, and the relief areas would be frosted. This will give the coin a lot of opportunity for light play.’
Five million 50ps are set to enter circulation later in 2023 featuring the original, uncrowned effigy by Martin Jennings. This follows the five million memorial 50ps that have already entered circulation – the first circulating coinage of the new monarch, that will co-circulate along with that of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Coronation range also includes a £5 coin featuring the crowned coinage portrait of His Majesty on the obverse and a design by Timothy Noad on the reverse, featuring the Tudor Crown.
The range also features a number of ounce coins, available in several editions and sizes, each featuring the crowned coinage portrait of His Majesty on the obverse and a beautiful design by John Bergdahl on the reverse.
