Hattons of London - Blog - Learn and discover about the world of coins

The History of Crowned Coinage Portraits

Posted on August 4, 2023August 4, 2023 by Vanessa Brockwell

It has been 11 months since Charles III became King of the United Kingdom, following the sad death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. This is a huge change for the British public, and new coinage featuring King Charles III is now trickling through into circulation.

If you have noticed that The King’s circulating coinage doesn’t feature him wearing a crown and wondered the reason for this, especially when the late Queen Elizabeth II wore a crown on her circulating coinage portraits, then you have come to the right place! Here is everything you need to know about the history of crowned coinage portraits…

Coin Collecting: Popular Denominations

Posted on July 31, 2023August 2, 2023 by Vanessa Brockwell

Coin collecting is one of the world’s oldest and most favourite hobbies, allowing numismatists to get closer to history. Starting a coin collection is easily accessible and there are many different denominations to choose from.

Here we look at the range of denominations, from circulating coins to rare historic coins, which are popular in the world of numismatics.

Queen Elizabeth II Gold Sovereign of 1989: Five Facts

Posted on July 27, 2023November 29, 2023 by Vanessa Brockwell

During the seventh instalment of the five facts about the Twelve Greatest Sovereigns blog series, we’re looking at the Queen Elizabeth II Gold Sovereign of 1989…

The 2023 Prince George 10th Birthday Gold Sovereign Range

Posted on July 23, 2023November 29, 2023 by Vanessa Brockwell

This is an incredibly significant year in British history: not only have we celebrated the coronation of a new monarch, the first in over seventy years, but we also celebrate the milestone 10th birthday of HRH Prince George, second in line to the throne and grandson of King Charles III! Prince George of Wales is the future of our monarchy and we are starting to see more of him, and get to know his cheeky personality, at major royal events.

A new series of sovereign coins has been produced to celebrate Prince George’s 10th birthday. These are the first ten-sided sovereign coins ever, in tribute to the young prince’s 10th birthday. This is more technically demanding than the usual circular shape, taking skill and precision to achieve, and this unique feature is a world-first on gold sovereign coins. Introducing the 2023 Prince George 10th Birthday Gold Sovereign Range, and in particular, the one-eighth sovereign…

The Equestrian Portraits of Queen Elizabeth II

Posted on July 15, 2023July 17, 2023 by Vanessa Brockwell

Monarchs are rarely portrayed in any style other than the traditional facial profile portrait. In fact, not since the reign of King Charles I had a British monarch been depicted in an equestrian portrait. Well-known for her horsemanship, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II along with three of her royal jubilees have been celebrated with crown sized British commemorative coins that depict her on horseback, also known as an Equestrian Portrait.

In our latest blog, we walk you through some of the most important coin designs of Her Late Majesty’s reign, featuring an equestrian portrait…

British Monarchs and their Royal Jubilees

Posted on July 11, 2023November 29, 2023 by Vanessa Brockwell

A ‘jubilee’ is an event in which the life and reign of a monarch is celebrated, usually worldwide. Typically, royal jubilees celebrate significant periods in monarchs’ reigns, and in British history, only four monarchs have experienced national jubilee celebrations. The naming of these celebrations coincide with wedding anniversary traditions i.e. Silver Jubilee for 25 years, Golden Jubilee for 50 years, Diamond Jubilee for 60 years, and Platinum Jubilee for 70 years.

Here, we have everything you need to know about the jubilee milestones that British monarchs have celebrated…

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