New coins bearing the portrait of King Charles III of the United Kingdom have been unveiled – £50, the local currency, enters public circulation in a few weeks.
BBC News has taken a peek at the 50 pence coin as well as the £5 commemorative copy, which contains a portrait of the king created by British sculptor Martin Jennings.
The coins follow centuries of tradition, with the Queen now depicted facing left – opposite the side facing her predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II.
Like previous British monarchs, and unlike the Queen, he is not depicted wearing a crown.
King Charles personally approved the statue – and was pleased with the resemblance.
The commemorative coins will be sold to collectors by the Royal British Mint from early next week.
The 50 pence coin will be available for general use well before the end of the year, and will be distributed at the request of banks, mortgage companies and post offices.
It will circulate in parallel with 27 billion coins from the era of the late Queen Elizabeth II, which will continue to be accepted in trade.
Coins generally last for 20 years, so the Queen Elizabeth and King Charles coins will be in circulation together for many years, says Ann Jessup, chief executive of the Royal Mint.
From the beginning of next year, coins from 1 cent to 2 pounds, which are used by the British in everyday life, will be minted in the same image as King Charles III. They will be issued as needed to replace old, damaged and worn out coins – and to cover any additional demand.
“People shouldn’t worry if they have coins with the Queen,” Jessup says. “Let’s keep those coins in circulation.”
“We’re seeing people switch to different ways of paying, but people also like to use coins for a lot of different reasons.”
The official plaque was designed to give the king an accessible appearance, and the same was true for the inscription.
The early British monarchs are labeled on the coin inscription using the Latin version of their name. However, the new coins display Charles III in place of Carolus.
The full inscription around the doll is: “CHARLES III • D • G • REX • F • D • 5 pounds • 2022”, abbreviated from Latin, which can be translated as “King Charles III, thank God, defender of the faith.”
The reverse of the new commemorative £5 coin shows two new portraits of the Queen – from a young king to a long-lived head of state.
On the 50 cent coin, the reverse is a copy of the design used on the 1953 coin to commemorate the coronation of Elizabeth II.
The portrait of King Charles is the first coin design created by Martin Jennings, but his public statues include the poets John Bettjemann at St Pancras Station in London and Philip Larkin in Hull.
Use pictures to create the design, rather than putting the king into a specific picture.
“It is the smallest work I have ever created, but I am honored to know that it will be seen and preserved by people all over the world for centuries to come,” he says.
The coins will be minted at the Royal Mint headquarters in Lantresant, Wales, where the Mint – Britain’s oldest company – moved in 1967 to service the decimalization process.
Before decimal division, it was common for people to have coins of different kings in their pockets.
On Monday, the Royal Mint will display a series of coins to celebrate the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth, including a single £5 coin.
What is the Royal Mint?
– It is one of the oldest companies in the world, having issued its first coin at the end of the 9th century, during the reign of Alfred the Great;
– The mint operated within the Tower of London for most of its existence, but since the late 1960s it has been headquartered in Lantresant, Ronda Sinon Tuff, Wales;
– Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated the present facility on December 17, 1968, just in time for the gigantic task of replacing the billions of coins in circulation in the face of decimal division;
There are over 27 billion coins in circulation in the UK, with the mint issuing around 1 billion new coins each year – although this number fluctuates.
Separately, people are being asked to check if they have any old banknotes at home, as they will be taken out of circulation this weekend.
From Saturday, stores can no longer accept £20 bills bearing the image of Adam Smith; and 50 lbs. with Matthew Bolton and James Watt.
In addition to these Bank of England notes, the British Central Bank notes, and the £20 and £50 notes issued by Clydesdale Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland will also be withdrawn from circulation on the same date.
The £20 notes issued by the Bank of Ireland, AIB Group, Danske Bank and Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland will also be out of circulation.
Anyone who misses the deadline can still exchange old banknotes at the bank.
– This text was published in https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-63086709
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