Royal Mint picks poppy again for Remembrance Day coin
- Published: Sep 23, 2016, 12 PM
For the fifth year in a row, the Royal Mint will issue a £5 coin for Alderney to honor the sacrifice and spirit celebrated on Remembrance Day.
The 2016 coin, as earlier Remembrance Day coins have, will show the poppy — a widely recognized symbol of remembrance — to honor servicemen and women who have lost their lives in times of war. All of the coins are color-printed in a trichromatic printing process that layers color onto the coin to capture every detail of the vibrant red coloring of the poppy.
All of the coins measure 38.61 millimeters in diameter.
Connect with Coin World:
Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Royal Mint coin designer and engraver Thomas Docherty designed the reverse of the 2016 Remembrance Day coin.
A poppy wreath fills much of the design, and was inspired by the wreath that currently lies at the Royal Mint’s on-site war memorial at Llantrisant, South Wales, honoring colleagues who have fought in past conflicts.
Docherty said through a press release that the design has special meaning.
“This wreath is not only personal to us at the Royal Mint but also reflects the ‘everyman’ we all commemorate on Remembrance Day; from the wreath-layers to the poppy wearers all over our country,” he said. “I wanted to paint the colours of the poppies boldly and vibrantly, hopefully emphasising that the poppy is a symbol of remembrance, but also one of hope for the future.”
The inscription chosen for this year’s coin, THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE, is widely used on war memorials around the world and comes from the Apocrypha at Ecclus. 44:14, which reads “Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.”
This passage is often read on Remembrance Day. The words were also chosen by novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling for inscription on war memorials, when he was a member of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. He was devastated by the death of his only son, John, in the conflict in 1915, just six weeks after his son’s 18th birthday.
The obverse features the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley.
Three versions of the design are available — a Brilliant Uncirculated copper-nickel coin and two Proof .925 fine silver coins, the latter available in both a standard version and in a piedfort (double thick) size.
The BU and standard silver Proof coin weighs 28.28 grams, and the Piedfort silver version weighs 56.56 grams.
The BU coin has an unlimited mintage and retails for £17.
The standard Proof silver version has a mintage limit of 2,016 pieces and retails for £80.
The Piedfort Proof silver version has a mintage limit of 1,000 pieces and retails for £160.
To order, visit the Royal Mint website.
MORE RELATED ARTICLES
Community Comments
Headlines
-
US Coins Jun 4, 2023, 1 PM
Market Analysis: AU Details on 1792 half disme
-
US Coins Jun 3, 2023, 1 PM
Diverse offerings in Stack’s Bowers June Showcase Auction
-
US Coins Jun 2, 2023, 8 PM
May events surround launch of Kanaka‘ole quarter
-
World Coins Jun 2, 2023, 1 PM
Ancient gold coin sets price record in May sale