Royal Mint's new collection features four generations
- Published: Feb 5, 2018, 3 AM
For the first time since the reign of Queen Victoria, the queen and three future monarchs are honored together on official United Kingdom coinage.
Queen Elizabeth II, her son Prince Charles of Wales, her grandson Prince William, and her great-grandson Prince George are represented together in the design used on seven new issues from the Royal Mint: Proof gold £5, £10 and £25 coins; a Proof silver £5 coin, piedfort £5 coin and a £10 coin; and a Brilliant Uncirculated copper-nickel £5 coin.
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The Four Generations of Royalty 2018 collection celebrates the family’s busy year of royal celebrations, including the 65th anniversary of the queen’s coronation, Prince Charles’ 70th birthday, Prince George’s fifth birthday and Prince Henry and Meghan Markle's wedding.
What coin struck in the second half of the 20th century has a doubled die obverse, dates of two sizes and an RPM? John Wexler explains. Also inside this issue, Joel Orosz checks out what was in the first “superstar” collection’s auction catalog.
Designed by calligrapher and heraldic artist Timothy Noad, the common commemorative reverse features oak branches, inspired by the Royal Badge of the House of Windsor, along with the initials of the first member of each generation.
“I started with several ideas, including a set of each of the royals in profile, but decided to go for the approach of overlapping initials to convey a sense of family,” Noad said. "Prince George won’t have his own coat of arms or coronet until he’s 18, so I needed to find something that would represent all four generations equally. The final design is drawn as a six-inch round and I had to make sure that the details translated to the small surface of the coin, so I also used a photocopier to scale down and check how it would work on the coin."
Jody Clark’s effigy of Queen Elizabeth II appears on the obverse of each of the coins.
The Brilliant Uncirculated copper-nickel £5 coin weighs 28.28 grams, measures 38.61 millimeters, has an unlimited mintage limit and retails for £13 from the Royal Mint.
The Proof .925 fine silver £5 coin weighs 28.28 grams, measures 38.61 millimeters and has a mintage limit of 5,000 pieces, priced at £82.50 each.
The Proof .925 fine silver piedfort £5 coin weighs 56.56 grams, measures 38.61 millimeters, has a mintage limit of 2,000 pieces and is offered at £155.00.
The Proof .999 fine silver £10 coin weighs 156.295 grams, measures 65 millimeters, has a mintage limit of 1,000 pieces and a retail price of £415.00.
The Proof 22-carat gold £5 coin weighs 39.94 grams, measures 38.61 millimeters, has a mintage limit of 500 pieces and is priced at £1,975.00.
The Proof quarter-ounce gold £25 coin weighs 7.798 grams, measures 22 millimeters, has a mintage limit of 1,100 pieces and is offered priced at £475.00.
The Proof 5-ounce gold £10 coin weighs 156.295 grams, measures 50 millimeters, has a mintage limit of 100 pieces and is offered at £8,450.00.
Pricing for the precious metals coins is as found at the Royal Mint website on Jan. 30.
For more information, visit the Royal Mint’s website.
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