A new commemorative 50p coin celebrating the coronation of King Charles III has gone into circulation. The coin depicts King Charles III wearing the Tudor Crown, while the reverse side depicts Westminster Abbey, in a nod to the historic crowning.
Despite the historic nature of the event, the King’s coronation has been updated with some modern twists – including a social-media savvy emoji
Five million coins will begin to be used from this week, the Royal Mint announced. It is the second 50p coin depicting King Charles III. The first, ‘the Memorial 50p’, entered circulation in December 2022 and marked the transition from Queen Elizabeth II to the new reign. The coins are part of a special commemorative collection which has been released to mark the coronation, which also includes a £5 coin and a number of ‘ounce coins’.
‘We are delighted to announce that 5 million 50p coins produced to mark His Majesty King Charles III’s coronation will enter circulation from today,’ Rebecca Morgan, Director of Commemorative Coin at The Royal Mint, said yesterday. ‘This is a special moment for the nation, as members of the public will have the opportunity to find a piece of history in their change. We anticipate the coronation 50p coins will be highly sought after among coin collectors and members of the public keen to own a piece of British history.’ She added: ‘The Royal Mint has had the honour of striking coins for every British monarch since Alfred the Great and we are proud to continue that long history with the introduction of His Majesty’s official coinage.’
The new appointments, including reassigning positions held by Prince Andrew and Prince Harry, ‘reflect the close relationship between the Armed Forces and the Royal Family in His Majesty’s reign’
The effigy of the King, designed by Martin Jennings, depicts His Majesty wearing the Tudor Crown which was personally selected by the King for the portrait. Destroyed during the civil war of 1649, the Tudor crown is still used heraldically, and features in previous portraits of crowned Kings from the 20th century. It is also used on the King’s cypher. The effigy features on both of the 50p designs.
In his effigy, King Charles faces to the left, which is the opposite direction to the late Queen Elizabeth II, who faced to the right. The tradition of shifting the direction of the effigy on the obverse of the coin has been in place since King Charles II. The exception to this rule was King Edward VIII, who reigned from January-December 1936, and liked portraits of himself facing to the left. When his brother, George VI (Queen Elizabeth II’s father), came to the throne, his portrait faced left as if his brother’s had faced right.
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Jennings said: ‘I am delighted to have had the opportunity to work on a crowned version for the coronation range. Each detail of the crown has to be scrupulously correct so it has taken considerable work to get it right. I’m proud to have had the opportunity to realise a design that is both dignified and celebratory for this historic occasion.’
The reverse of the new 50p coin features a design of Westminster Abbey by Royal Mint Designer Natasha Jenkins.
