After the passing of our late Queen Elizabeth II in September, we knew that the coins we use every day with her portrait on them would eventually have to be phased out and replaced with the portrait of our new King Charles III.
At the end of 2022, The Royal Mint unveiled a new coin effigy of King Charles III; these new coins were released at the beginning of the year. This new coin design features a portrait of King Charles III facing right and was designed by Martin Jennings. The Royal Mint has a long-standing tradition of creating new effigies to mark significant changes in the monarchy, and this new effigy of King Charles III continues that tradition.
The King’s portrait will appear on the heads of the new £5 and 50p coins. On the reverse of the 50p coin is a design that originally appeared on the 1953 Coronation Crown. The reverse of the £5 coin features two new portraits of Queen Elizabeth II that artist John Bergdahl created. Both these designs will commemorate the life of our late Queen.
5 New Memorial Bullion Sovereign Gold Coins
To mark the passing of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and to honour her long life and reign, a new memorial range of Sovereign bullion coins are being released this month.
This is the first Sovereign Bullion range featuring the official portrait of His Majesty The King; it features Benedetto Pistrucci’s St George and the dragon and an intricate reinterpretation of the Royal Arms by Jody Clark.
The five new coins are:
- The Memorial Sovereign 2022 Gold Bullion Coin
- The Memorial Soverign 2022 Twenty-Five Bullion Coin Tube
- The Memorial Half-Sovereign 2022 Gold Bullion Coin
- The Memorial Double-Sovereign 2022 Gold Bullion Coin
- The Memorial Quarter-Sovereign 2022 Gold Bullion Coin
These coins will all feature our new King Charles III for the first time, and they will be released on the 7th of February.
