What happened when The Royal Mint launched the official Coronation coins?
Today, we witnessed the monumental launch of the official UK Coronation coin range.
And as you would imagine, the coins released for the biggest royal event in decades have generated insatiable demand. The Royal Mint have already SOLD-OUT THIRTEEN of their specifications.
Featuring a 50p, £5 and an Ounce range, these FIRST Coronation coins were made available in BU, Silver Proof, Silver Piedfort, and the most prestigious quality – Gold Proof.
OVER 60,000 Collectors Waited…
The story began at 9am, when we were greeted by a queue of over 60,000 on The Royal Mint’s website.
And since then, we have seen almost immediate SELL-OUTS…
Sell-Out After Sell-Out
The growing queue soon resulted in the 16-MINUTE SELL-OUT of the Struck on the Day Sovereign, going off-sale from the Mint at 9:16am.
The sell-out of the 1/40th oz Gold coin came next, selling out an impressive entire edition limit of 2,023 in just over twenty minutes!
The prestigious 1oz and ¼ oz Gold Proof Coronation coins soon followed suit and sold-out too.
Next were all the coins in the Gold Ounce range to sell-out of their edition limits, which ranged from 500 to 2,023.
Then, the 5oz Silver with an edition limit of 1,500 was next to sell-out…
Even the large edition limit of 3,250 belonging to the Silver Piedfort 50p and Silver Piedfort £5 coins have BOTH SOLD-OUT!
But most impressively so far, BOTH the prestigious Gold Proof 50p and Gold Proof £5 specifications have sold-out of their 500 edition limits!
Discover the UK Coronation Coin Designs…
Last week, The Royal Mint and Buckingham Palace revealed the designs of the UK’s Coronation coins.
Since then, collectors have been eagerly eyeing up the coins they want to get their hands on when they are officially available to buy on the 24th April.
Let’s take a look at the designs…
The Portrait
The special portrait of King Charles III that will be used on this Coronation range of coins has been designed by sculptor Martin Jennings (who also designed the standard effigy). In this portrait, King Charles III is depicted wearing the Tudor Crown.
The crown itself was destroyed back in 1649 during the Civil War, but it was personally selected by King Charles III for his portrait to follow suit of previous 20th century kings, including that of his grandfather, King George VI.
The Tudor Crown also features on Charles III’s Royal Cypher – his royal monogram.
Source: The Royal Family royal.uk
The 50p
The 50p coin design will feature the King’s Royal Cypher, alongside a stunning line drawing of the front of Westminster Abbey.
Created by The Royal Mint’s resident designer Natasha Jenkins, it’s a reference to the Coronation Day itself, when Charles and Camilla will arrive at Westminster Abbey to be crowned.
The £5
Timothy Noad is the designer behind the Coronation £5 coin, a man with an already prolific portfolio in coins. Previously, his designs have featured on the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee issues, as well as three rare changes in design of the Sovereign.
The design of the Coronation £5 features the renowned St Edward’s Crown, carefully joined by the two sceptres that King Charles will hold on the day of the Coronation. These crown jewels have been an iconic symbol of the United Kingdom since they were first created for Charles II in 1661.
Source: Royal Collection Trust
The Ounce
The ounce range of coins feature a heraldic design by John Berhdahl – the designer of the special Platinum Jubilee obverse last year.
Fascinatingly, John has said that he imagined the coin by sketching the initial design on tracing paper, then overlaying more tracing paper to manipulate the layers of the design.
The Sovereign
There will be a limited number of Sovereigns struck on the day of the Coronation on 6th May 2023. As the perfect way to commemorate this day, the design will go back to the original Pistrucci St George and the Dragon design. This will be the first opportunity for collectors to own a 2023 Sovereign.
The coin range will be available to purchase on Monday 24th April on the Westminster Collection website, but if you want to be the first to hear more about the coins, sign-up here:
Official UK Coronation Coins Revealed…
The Royal Mint have revealed a special Coronation portrait of King Charles III, which will feature on the United Kingdom’s range of Coronation Coins.
The portrait shows King Charles III wearing the Tudor Crown, a design that is unique to the Coronation Range – this includes the UK’s first Coronation 50p, a £5, an Ounce and a Sovereign.
The 50p itself features a design by Natasha Jenkins of the King’s Royal Cypher, alongside the front of Westminster Abbey where he will be crowned on 6th May 2023.
The £5 coin, designed by renowned coin artist Timothy Noad, features the St Edward’s Crown joined by other Coronation Regalia.
And finally, the Ounce coins feature a heraldic design by John Bergdahl.
All designs have been personally approved by the King himself and will be available from 9am on 24th April 2023, on The Westminster Collection’s website.
To be the first to find out how to secure yours, sign up below: