Description
It feels momentous to be writing these words… but Britain has a new monarch. This is something that no-one for generations has written. Not for 70 years has this been uttered and it feels remarkable to be able to say that there are new sovereign coins with the portrait of our new sovereign monarch.
King Charles III inherits a very different world to that which his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, did when she stepped into the role in 1952. For a start, the Queen was 25 years old; the King is 74. He has spent over seven decades preparing for his role – a lifetime apprenticeship. The Queen was in many ways still learning about the world during her reign, while Charles has highly formed opinions that he will bring to the role.
While the world debates what sort of monarch he will be, the simple truth is that he will be different to his mother. It’s a different world after all: his accession was announced in an instant on social media, and his accession ceremony was broadcast live to hundreds of millions of households around the globe.
The most important thing for all of us, is that with the accession of our new King Charles III, a thousand years of Britain’s monarchy endures. This new king’s accession is a significant moment in the history of our nation.
For our new king, new gold sovereign coins that pay homage to some of the greatest British monarchs who have gone before him
Prior to becoming monarch, Charles was often outspoken in a number of his views, leading many to fear that he would be a ‘radical’ king. However, he seems to be mindful not only of the expectations of him now he is king, but also of his position as the custodian of traditions that stretch back through time. Many great monarchs, both kings and queens, have preceded him – not least his own mother Queen Elizabeth II. Now, this new series of King Charles III gold sovereign coins has been announced which pays homage to some of Britain’s greatest ever monarchs.
These coins have a number of important features:
- Each coin features His Majesty King Charles III on the obverse, in a portrait by artist Jody Clark. Jody Clark also designed the Fifth (and final) Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II which appeared on all her British coinage from mid-2015 to last year.
- On the reverse sides, each coin features a great British monarch from the past and records one of their great regnal milestones: for example, the one-eighth sovereign features King Charles’ mother Queen Elizabeth II who, in 2022, became the first monarch in our history to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.
- The one-eighth sovereign is the very first coin of its kind ever to feature the portrait of King Charles III.
- Other coins in the series pay tribute to: King George V – founder of the House of Windsor, King George III – our longest reigning king, and Queen Victoria – our second longest reigning queen (behind only Queen Elizabeth II) and the first British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee
- Each coin features King Charles III on one side and another great monarch on the other making them all rare examples of ‘dual portrait’ gold sovereign coins, popular with collectors worldwide
- The reverse designs are by Matt Dent, designer of Britain’s circulating one pence to fifty pence coins. His attention to detail is evident in the fact that the monarchs face the same way as they did on their own coinage, alternating from the direction of the previous monarch, in the same way King Charles III now faces the opposite direction to Queen Elizabeth II.
Poignant tribute on the one-eighth sovereign with King Charles III on one side and his predecessor – and mother – Queen Elizabeth II, on the other
The gold one-eighth sovereign in this new series is a special coin indeed. This coin is a tribute to possibly our greatest ever monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. That she is our new king’s predecessor, and more importantly, his mother, makes this coin a poignant reminder of the fact that when a new monarch accedes it is most often because their parent has passed away.
This is the first one-eighth sovereign in King Charles III’s reign, and we believe it will retain a special place in the history of his coinage
Further great monarchs celebrated on these coins, many of which are firsts
The designs on the reverses of these new sovereign coins celebrate some of Britain’s greatest ever monarchs and some of the major regnal jubilees they have celebrated. Some of these monarchs have never before appeared on these denominations meaning they will have incredible collector appeal:
- the gold one-eighth sovereign is the first coin of its kind of King Charles III
- the gold quarter sovereign is the first of its kind to feature King George V
- the gold half sovereign and sovereign both feature new portraits by Matt Dent that have never before appeared on those coin denominations
When you combine the popularity of ‘dual portrait’ designs which, in this instance bring together Britain’s newest monarch King Charles III with some of our greatest, with the fact many are firsts, you can see why they will be subject to considerable demand, and not just from collectors.
Authorised by Tristan da Cunha and approved by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Buckingham Palace, it is a wonderful tribute!
