28 September 2018
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The 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s novel, The Modern Prometheus, has been marked by a £2 Frankenstein coin from The Royal Mint.
The Frankenstein coin was designed by Thomas T. Docherty a member of The Royal Mint Coin Design team. Thomas’s ‘spark’ of inspiration came from the power of Mary Shelley’s words bringing her monster to life. Thomas used this to create his own interpretation of the ‘spark of being’.
The birth of a legend
On a stormy night in 1816, a group of friends gathered at a villa on the shores of Lake Geneva to tell each other ghost stories. The company, including the poets Lord Byron and Percy Shelley, had been discussing the latest scientific controversy – was human life simply biological or did it contain ‘the divine spark’ of God?
That night Mary Godwin (later Mary Shelley), experienced a fevered dream about the birth of a terrible creature that was to become one of the most famous horror stories ever written.
Thomas said of the coin design: 'As this is the anniversary of Mary Shelley’s novel, I really wanted to get a feel for the original story. I am passionate about typography, and for a coin celebrating her story, it seemed appropriate to create a design made up of words – extending to the full title of The Modern Prometheus. The creature is lifeless, brought to life, then returns to death. I was inspired by ECG, the jagged pulse of a heartbeat – before the name there is nothing, then the spark of life, which dies to nothing once more.'
Frankenstein coin details
The coin is available in Brilliant Uncirculated, Silver Proof, Silver Proof Piedfort and Gold Proof finishes.
Denomination: £2
Diameter: 28.40mm
Weight: 12g (BU and Silver Proof), 24g (Silver Proof Piedfort and Gold Proof)
Obverse: Jody Clark
Reverse: Thomas T Docherby
To order the coin, visit The Royal Mint's website.
