For the first time in Big Ben’s 150 year history, a new £5 Crown, from the Royal Mint is being used to help London’s iconic clock keep time.  The 2009 Big Ben £5 Crown was today placed inside the movement of the Great Clock and will play an essential role in maintaining its famous accuracy.

The coin change-over forms part of Big Ben’s 150th Anniversary celebrations, with the new £5 Crown, one of the official London 2012 licensed coins, replacing some of the pre-decimal pennies which have acted as weights inside the clock since 1859. This is the first time any of the coins inside the clock have been changed.

As part of the Royal Mint’s collection celebrating London 2012, a further 100,000 of the commemorative coin have been specially minted by the Royal Mint to help the public celebrate Big Ben’s momentous anniversary and are available now to purchase from www.royalmint.com. Read the rest of this entry »

Nine-year-old Florence Jackson, from Bristol, was today revealed as the first child ever to work with the Royal Mint to design a UK coin.

Florence won the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to design a coin celebrating London 2012 by taking part in a CBBC Blue Peter competition. The competition proved one of the show’s all time most popular, with Florence’s design beating over 17,000 other entries.

Florence Jackson, said: "I was so excited. It was a real surprise to win. I’d never entered a Blue Peter competition before, but really wanted to take part because I love drawing.

I chose the high-jump because I’d watched it on TV before and thought it looked fun. It was amazing to visit the Royal Mint and see my picture turned into a coin. I can’t wait to see it in my pocket money!"

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2009 marks 40 years since the introduction of the UK’s most distinctive circulation coin - the 50p piece.

To mark this defining moment in British currency, The Royal Mint is proud to make available for the very first time a 16-coin silver Proof set celebrating the many commemorative designs to have graced the coin.

The 50p coin replaced the ten-shilling note in 1969, joining the 5p (shilling) and 10p (florin) coins in circulation to leave only the three copper coins to be introduced in February 1971 to complete the new series of decimal coins. While the original reverse featured Christopher Ironside’s traditional Britannia design, the new coin’s equilateral curve heptagon was unequivocally revolutionary as the world’s first seven-sided coin.

Over the last 40 years the 50p coin has celebrated a number of important occasions in British and European history. The new Royal Mint UK 50p Silver Proof Collection showcases the 16 distinctive designs to have appeared on its reverse to date, including the coin’s first ever commemorative design marking the UK’s accesion to the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973. Read the rest of this entry »

The Royal Mint has presented HRH The Prince of Wales, with a special gold edition of a medallion struck to commemorate the golden anniversary of the 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards (The Welsh Cavalry) who have been serving in Afghanistan recently.

The Prince of Wales is Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, but his personal affinity with the Regiment goes back further as his predecessor as Colonel-in-Chief was his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. Read the rest of this entry »

The British Royal Mint has released the 2009 UK Britannia Four Coin Silver Proof Set which includes a £2 coin, a £1 coin, a 50p coin and a 20p coin. Making this collection unique is the fact that for the first time an image of Britannia is accompanied by a portrait of the current Queen on a silver proof set.

A mythical figure, Britannia was first introduced on British coins in 1697 when she replaced the walking lion figure traditionally used before that date. She has come to symbolize the strength of Britain.

The reverse or "tails" side of these coins showcase a version of Britannia designed by Philip Nathan, which was used originally for coins in 1997 when the silver proof Britannia family made its debut. It was inspired by the famous 1st century AD warrior queen Boudicca, who was known for leading a daring revolt against the Romans. Read the rest of this entry »

The Royal Mint is delighted to introduce the 2009 Britannia collection, featuring Philip Nathan’s famous 1997 design of Britannia standing tall in her chariot.

His stunning design appears on the reverse, while the current portrait of Her Majesty the Queen takes pride of place on the obverse - the first time that the two designs have appeared alongside each other on a gold coin.  

The 2009 collection is the eighth in a series of Britannia commemorative coins to be released since their inception by the Royal Mint in 1987. Unusually for UK gold coins, the Britannia Collection is struck to 22 carat gold Proof quality, but with a small quantity of silver added to the alloy, resulting in a brilliant yellow gold finish. Read the rest of this entry »

The Royal Mint has today reported another profitable and successful year, demonstrating the commitment to long-term sustainable growth.

An operating profit before exceptional items and interest of £8.2 million (2007-08: £9.6m) was realised in spite of the challenging global economic environment, meaning the Royal Mint will pay a dividend of £4.0 million (2007-08: £3.9m) into the public purse. Sales increased to £159 million, an increase of 17% compared to last year, and this strong demand reflects the high quality of Royal Mint products.

The Circulating Coin business delivered its third consecutive year of increased profitability and an 8.8% growth in turnover to £93.2 million (2007-08: £85.0 million), which represents an outstanding achievement given the international recession. Read the rest of this entry »

Celebrating the 500th anniversary of the ascension of a king considered to be controversial at the least, the Royal Mint has issued the 2009 UK Henry VIII £5 coins. These coins are available in platinum, gold, silver and cupro-nickel.

Dave Knight, Director of Commemorative Coins at the Mint, explains the choice for these commemorative coins:

“Love him or hate him, Henry VIII is undoubtedly one of history’s most influential monarchs. His reign changed the face of England forever and we felt it was essential that this remarkable period of history was commemorated with a lasting and treasured memento.”

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In 1759, a few acres of land was donated by Princess Augusta to create a garden for rare and unusual plants. 250 years later the Royal Mint is celebrating the creation of this premier facility with the 2009 UK Kew Gardens 50p coins.

The coins are available in three forms: a 22 carat gold proof coin, a .925 sterling silver proof coin and a cupro-nickel brilliant uncirculated coin. Each has a face value of 50p, but as they are composed of metals with differing values, so are the purchase prices.

The first few years of Kew Gardens saw growth, but not the scientific stature it would eventually attain. The beginning of real change occurred in 1771 when King George III met Joseph Banks, an entrepreneur who had just returned from a world voyage with James Cook aboard the Endeavour. Banks had accumulated an impressive collection of animals, plants and portfolios. So much so that the King and Banks developed a close relationship, and Banks became the President of the Royal Society (UK’s National Academy of Science) for 42 years. Read the rest of this entry »

In 2012, London will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the most prestigious sporting events in the world. To commemorate this auspicious occasion, the Royal Mint was joined by Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington OBE to launch the first Countdown Coin, a special £5 coin counting down three years to the exciting event.

Rebecca comments: "I am thrilled to help launch the Royal Mint’s Countdown to London 2012 coin. The Olympic Games is just around the corner and this coin is a great way for the British public to show its support for the sports men and women who are already preparing for this ultimate sporting challenge."

The 2009 UK Countdown to London 2012 £5 coin is the first in a series of four beautifully crafted coins to be launched annually from now until 2012 and is available in gold, silver and cupro-nickel. Read the rest of this entry »