World Coins

Christmas £5, sixpence coins ready

The United Kingdom’s Royal Mint has issued two new coins to celebrate Christmas.

The Brilliant Uncirculated 2017 Christmas Tree £5 coin, designed by printmaker Edwina Ellis, captures the excitement of the festive season. Minted in copper-nickel, the coin showcases a Christmas tree adorned with multiple ornaments, familiar symbols of the season.

The Jody Clark effigy of Queen Elizabeth II appears on the obverse of both 2017 Christmas coins.

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The Christmas Tree coin weighs 28.28 grams and measures 38.61 millimeters in diameter. With an unlimited mintage, it retails for £13.

The other new coin from the Royal Mint supports an age-old British Christmas tradition, encouraging families to stir the Christmas silver sixpence coin into their Christmas pudding for good fortune.  

Stir-up-Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent, is the traditional day to make the Christmas pudding. Traditionally, a silver sixpence was stirred into the mix, to bring the finder wealth and good luck in the year to come. In the past it was usual for every member of the household to give the pudding a stir and make a wish. Some families have used the same Christmas sixpence for as long as they can remember!

For families that need a new example, the reverse of the 2017 coin features a crown, the year date, the denomination and Queen Elizabeth II’s cypher, in a design by artist and sculptor John Bergdahl. 

The .925 fine silver coin weighs 3.35 grams and measures 19.41 millimeters. 

It has unlimited mintage and retails for £15.

To order, visit the Royal Mint website, www.royalmint.com.


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