Here's What The New King Charles III Coins Are Going To Look Like
Queen Elizabeth II became queen in 1952, and she reigned for a historically long 70 years (via History). In honor of her 70 years on the throne, the United Kingdom pulled out all the stops for the Platinum Jubilee, and this included an estimated spending of over $356 million on Platinum Jubilee souvenirs, according to The Washington Post.
There were any number of souvenirs people could buy with the queen's face on it for the occasion. However, the queen's face has also featured in everyday life since she is on money and stamps. There were five different versions of the queen's face on coins, starting in 1953, and by 1960, her face was on banknotes as well. With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, billions of coins and banknotes with her face on them will end up being replaced with those featuring King Charles III, per CNN, and the Royal Mint has released the first look of King Charles III's coins.
In October, three coins will be released with King Charles III's face
Images of the first coins to feature King Charles III's face have been released by the Royal Mint. The image was made by British sculptor Martin Jennings, who studied pictures of King Charles III to create the plaster model. Of the king's perspective on the coin, Jennings said, "He was very interested in it and responded very positively to it. It has been very gratifying to be involved in this important process."
There will be three coins initially released in the collection on October 3; in a statement on the Royal Mint website, there will be two memorial £5 coins, both with King Charles on one side and one will have just a solo image of Queen Elizabeth towards the end of her reign while the other will have images of both Queen Elizabeth at the beginning of her reign and at the end. The 50p coin with King Charles's effigy will be issued into general circulation as well. The back of the 50p is a 1953 design created in honor of the queen's coronation — four shields representing the four nations of the United Kingdom with a rose for England, shamrock for Northern Ireland, leek for Wales, and thistle for Scotland, according to Artnet.
King Charles III will face left on British coins
On the coin, King Charles III is pictured facing left; the queen faced right on hers. That's a tradition that goes back 300 years — monarchs alternating the way they were facing on the coins, according to the Royal Mint Museum. The one exception to this was Edward VIII who preferred his left side, which was the same way that George V was facing on his coins. However, when Edward VIII abdicated, no coins with his face were in circulation, and King George VI faced left for his coin, in effect pretending that Edward VIII had faced right for his.
Sculptor Martin Jennings didn't just create the face of the king for the coin, he also picked out the font that runs around the edge of the coin as well. The words in Latin say, "King Charles III, by the Grace of God, Defender of the Faith," per Artnet. Jennings explained, "What I wanted was a classical, almost magisterial, form of lettering to emphasize the strength in the portrait."
While there will be a gradual phasing out of currency with Queen Elizabeth's face, it will be a years-long process and that currency will still be usable within the United Kingdom.