British citizens will start to see King Charles III’s image in their change starting in December as 50-pence coins featuring him progressively reach circulation, according to the Royal Mint of Britain, which has presented the first coins with his portrait on them. According to the Royal Mint, Charles personally authorised the effigy of the next monarch, which was made by British artist Martin Jennings. As is customary, the king’s picture is oriented to the left, the opposite of the way his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, is portrayed.
Chris Barker from the Royal Mint Museum said, ‘Charles has followed the general pattern that we have in British currency, going all the way back to Charles II actually, whereby the king faces in the opposite direction as their predecessor’. Without a crown, Charles is shown in the image. King Charles III, by the Grace of God, Defender of the Faith, according to a Latin inscription that surrounds the image.
Monday will see the debut of a unique 5-pound commemorative coin honouring Elizabeth’s life and contributions. Charles is depicted on one side of the coin, and Elizabeth is depicted in two brand-new side-by-side portraits on the other. Since Alfred the Great, the South Wales-based Royal Mint has produced coins featuring the British royal family.
According to Anne Jessopp, chief executive of the Royal Mint, ‘Back when we first started making coins, that was the only way that people could know what the monarch genuinely looked like, not in the days of social media like now’. Therefore, going future, King Charles’ likeness will appear on every coin.
After his mother, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, passed away on September 8 at the age of 96, Charles succeeded to the throne. There are now about 27 billion Elizabeth II-themed coins in use in the UK. All of these coins will continue to be accepted as legal money and in use, and they will all eventually be replaced when they get damaged or worn out.
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