Dhe UK Mint minted the effigy of King Charles III on Friday. revealed, which will appear on British coins in the future. It is the work of British sculptor Martin Jennings and was personally commissioned by Charles.
The first coins to feature the new king’s effigy are a commemorative five pound coin and a 50 pence coin commemorating the life of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who will be featured on the reverse. They are slated to go into circulation “in the coming months,” likely in December, according to the Royal Mint.
Jennings said he designed Charles’s portrait from a photo. It is the smallest work he has ever completed. It makes him humble when he imagines that people around the world will be able to see and hold it in their hands for centuries to come.
Charles looks to the left while his mother looked to the right on the coins. This corresponds to an old tradition according to which the new heir to the throne looks in the opposite direction to his predecessor. The new coins bear the Latin inscription: “King Charles III, by the Grace of God, Protector of the Faith”.
The portraits on the reverse of the commemorative £5 coin will be two new ones of the Queen. Elizabeth II died on September 8 after 70 years on the British throne. According to the Royal Mint Museum, no other British monarch features on as many coins as they do.
