100 years, 100 poppies. How this year’s Poppy coin perfectly marks the First World War Centenary.

The official new Poppy Coin has just been issued in support of The Royal British Legion and this year it features a stylised The Royal British Legion red poppy, with a poignant nod to the First World War Centenary. Upon closer inspection the singular poppy is made up of 99 individually engraved red ink poppies, making 100 poppies in total for the centenary year of WWI.

I caught up with designer Christopher Lloyd to ask him about the story behind his design:

Chris designing Poppy Coin for Blog - 100 years, 100 poppies. How this year’s Poppy coin perfectly marks the First World War Centenary.
2018 Remembrance Poppy Coin Designer, Christopher Lloyd

“Considering it’s an incredibly important year, the coin had to make reference to the centenary year. However, as it is the only official coin to support The Royal British Legion an essential part of the coin had to be the Legion’s stylised poppy.”

“I designed the coin to feature 99 poppies, all of which are highlighted in red ink and encompassed within one much larger poppy, to directly make reference to the First World War Centenary.”

“It has been an honour to design the 2018 Poppy coin. I hope it helps to support the important work of The Royal British Legion.”

A coin for every collection

Poppy drawing - 100 years, 100 poppies. How this year’s Poppy coin perfectly marks the First World War Centenary.
The 2018 Remembrance Poppy Coin Design Sketches

This year a whole range of different coin specifications are to be struck, meaning there is a coin for every collector. From a special Proof quality cupro-nickel £5 coin – right up to an astonishing 5oz Gold edition, the new Poppy Coin is undoubtedly a moving tribute to mark Remembrance Day during such an important centenary year.

Officially issued in support of The Royal British Legion

To support the work of The Royal British Legion, The Westminster Collection have organised for a donation from the sale of each coin to go directly to the charity, helping them to continue to provide financial, social and lifelong support to all who have served and are currently serving in the British Armed Forces and their families.

What’s more, since our partnership began we are on target to raise an incredible £1,000,000 in support of The Royal British Legion.


If you’re interested… 

The 2018 Remembrance Poppy Coins are available now. Click here for more details and to add one to your collection today >>

100 Poppies, 100 years – Creating a masterpiece.

This year marks one hundred years since the First World War came to an end, making the 2018 Poppy coin designs even more special.

The Masterpiece Poppy Coin

Issued in support of The Royal British Legion, the brand new Masterpiece Poppy coin very poignantly and quite literally stands out as it uses an incredible 3 dimensional effect.

It’s called a Masterpiece for a reason. Using cutting edge minting techniques and specialist craftsmanship, a stylised Royal British Legion poppy, proudly sits on top of your coin, resulting in an exceptional 9mm relief.

What’s more, there’s another aspect that makes this year’s Masterpiece Poppy so special.  

British Artillery Shell

You see, the Golden coloured poppy that adorns your coin has been made from inert brass British artillery shell fuses recovered from the First World War battlefield of the Somme and areas of France and Belgium. Some were recovered by Chris Bennett of TMB Art Metal, but most were trawled in by farmers from ploughed fields.

The shells are then brought back to the UK, where they are melted down and poured into a mould. It is then cooled and cleaned to created the high-relief poppy. 

Straight from the frontline

And that’s not all, each poppy has a central disc of red enamel which has been applied by hand and, to add even more poignancy, this enamel is mixed with earth recovered from several locations along the British Front Line of the Somme and Passchendaele areas in Belgium.

Therefore, not only are the poppies made of actual WW1 metal, but they also possess the very essence of the battlefield which the brave soldiers fought and died upon, and that many still lie at peace beneath.

100 Poppies, 100 years

Significantly, 99 poppies have been engraved into the surface of the coin, making 100 poppies in total to reflect the centenary anniversary.

The finish on this year’s Masterpiece design is a stunning antique effect. It means that, should you wish, you can actually touch the coin and the brass poppy itself. A chance to hold a genuine piece of history in your hands.

Watch the below video to see the incredible detail that has gone into this years stunning release. 

Presentation that befits your masterpiece

And, as befits such a masterpiece, its presentation matches the coin’s impressiveness.

The luxurious wooden display case allows you to display your Masterpiece Poppy Coin to the best advantage, with its glass lid protecting the coin. Inside the box is space for the individually hand-numbered Certificate of Authenticity, as well as the accompanying booklet that tells the story of the Masterpiece Poppy Coin from concept to final coin.

Available now – with a donation to The Royal British Legion

RBL 2018 Poppy Masterpiece 5oz Silver Coin Group - 100 Poppies, 100 years – Creating a masterpiece.

The 2018 Masterpiece 5oz Silver Proof Poppy Coin is available to own right now from The Westminster Collection, although they are expected to sell out quickly.

To further support the work of The Royal British Legion, a donation of £55 from the sale of each coin will go directly to the charity, helping them to continue to provide financial, social and life-long support to the Armed Forces community.

£1,000,000 Milestone

What’s more, since our partnership began we are on target to raise an incredible £1,000,000 in support of The Royal British Legion.


If you’re interested…

You can own the 2018 Masterpiece Poppy coin by clicking here >>

RBL 2018 Materpiece Poppy coin obverse reverse 10p 1 - 100 Poppies, 100 years – Creating a masterpiece.
The 2018 Masterpiece Poppy Coin 

£55.00 from the sale of this product will be paid to The Royal British Legion Trading Limited, which gives its taxable profits to The Royal British Legion (charity no. 219279) or Poppyscotland (Scottish charity SC014096). Your donation will be given to either charity based on where the item was purchased. 

Coin of the Year – the results!

The results are in and I can now reveal your top 3 coin designs of the year!

1st - Coin of the Year - the results!

3rd place – The Guernsey 2014 First World War Centenary £5 Coin
2nd Place – The UK 2014 Lord Kitchener £2 Coin

And the winner….

1st Place – The Jersey 2014 ‘100 Poppies’ £5 Coin

Thanks for all your votes!  The striking design and the importance of the work of the Royal British Legion combined to make the ‘100 Poppies’ coin a real stand out this year.

Now it’s time to look forward to the new issues for 2015!


If you’re interested…

We still have some stock available of the UK 2014 Lord Kitchener £2 Coin. Click here