06 November 2014
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The Royal Mint announces new portrait of the Queen to appear on coins in 2015
The Royal Mint has announced that it is to update the current coinage portrait of the Queen for the first time in seventeen years. ...
The Royal Mint has announced that it is to update the current coinage portrait of the Queen for the first time in seventeen years.
The current Ian Rank-Broadley portrait, which has been on circulating UK coins since 1998 (pictured here), will be replaced with a new portrait, only the fifth definitive coin portrait to be created during the queen's 62 year reign. The new portrait will be chosen by a closed competition commissioned by the Royal Mint Advisory Committee (RMAC) where a number of specialist designers are invited to submit designs under anonymous cover, before a winner is selected by the RMAC.
A special year for coin collectors
The news means that the first 2015 dated coins to be released, such as the new 2015 Sovereign, will be the last ever coins to feature the current effigy. This 2015 Sovereign will be a particularly special issue, as the early editions will feature the current portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley, while those struck in 2015 will be amongst the very first to feature the new effigy.
Adam Lawrence, Chief Executive of The Royal Mint, said: 'This change of effigy will make 2015 a vintage year for UK coins, and while it will be hugely exciting for us all to see the new design appear on the coins we use every day, we also believe it is right that The Sovereign, our most famous coin which gets its name from the fact that it carries an image of the monarch on its obverse, be among the first to carry both the current portrait on these new releases, and the new effigy when it is revealed.'
For more on The Royal Mint, visit the website.
The current Ian Rank-Broadley portrait, which has been on circulating UK coins since 1998 (pictured here), will be replaced with a new portrait, only the fifth definitive coin portrait to be created during the queen's 62 year reign. The new portrait will be chosen by a closed competition commissioned by the Royal Mint Advisory Committee (RMAC) where a number of specialist designers are invited to submit designs under anonymous cover, before a winner is selected by the RMAC.
A special year for coin collectors
The news means that the first 2015 dated coins to be released, such as the new 2015 Sovereign, will be the last ever coins to feature the current effigy. This 2015 Sovereign will be a particularly special issue, as the early editions will feature the current portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley, while those struck in 2015 will be amongst the very first to feature the new effigy.
Adam Lawrence, Chief Executive of The Royal Mint, said: 'This change of effigy will make 2015 a vintage year for UK coins, and while it will be hugely exciting for us all to see the new design appear on the coins we use every day, we also believe it is right that The Sovereign, our most famous coin which gets its name from the fact that it carries an image of the monarch on its obverse, be among the first to carry both the current portrait on these new releases, and the new effigy when it is revealed.'
For more on The Royal Mint, visit the website.
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Read much more about past and present UK coins in the November 2014 issue of Stamp & Coin Mart. Order the print edition right here, or download the issue using the links below…
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