New UK £5 pays tribute to HRH Prince Philip

In commemoration of the life and achievements of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a UK £5 coin has just been issued.

Issued shortly after what would have been his 100th birthday and within just three months of his passing, this special tribute to Prince Philip features a portrait created by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS that was personally approved by The Duke of Edinburgh himself.

As Britain’s longest serving Consort – the Queen’s “strength and stay” – and as former President of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, it is only fitting that a new UK coin should be issued in his honour.

You can secure yours now in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for just £10.99 here >>

This new release become the sixth UK coin to feature HRH Prince Philip and in this blog we’ll take a look back at his life as celebrated on £5 coins, as well as the role the Duke played in shaping UK currency.

Prince Philip in Coins

The 1972 Crown issued to mark his Silver Wedding Anniversary was an understated affair. However, in 1997, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary, and Prince Philip featured on a UK coin for the very first time as part of a conjoined effigy on the obverse of the commemorative £5 coin. 2007 saw a similar conjoined portrait before the recent 2017 Platinum Wedding Anniversary design, which featured the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh on horseback in what can only been seen as a nod to the original 1953 Coronation Crown as well as a third conjoined portrait.

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Prince Philip appeared on Golden, Diamond & Platinum Wedding Anniversary £5 Coins

Yet it was in 2011 that Prince Philip was finally granted the greatest privilege – his own £5 Coin to celebrate his 90th Birthday – a splendid close up portrait of the Duke by Mark Richards FRBS. This was followed in 2017, with a design of the young Prince Philip by Humphrey Paget to mark Prince Philip stepping down from public duties after 70 years of service. 

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Prince Philip on 2017 and 2011 £5 Coins

First Job – new coin designs

Not only does the Duke feature on a number of UK coins, he also had a hand in the creation of new coins too!

On 21 March 1952, just weeks after the Queen’s accession to the throne, Prince Philip attended his first meeting as President of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee on the design of coins, medals, seals and decorations (RMAC); a role that he would hold for the next 47 years, until his retirement in 1999.

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Prince Philip was involved in selecting the very first coin design of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign

A keen artist himself, the Prince’s first job was to oversee the selection of the Queen’s portrait to ordain her new coins. An uncrowned Queen was chosen from a field of seventeen designs, giving Nottingham born sculptor, Mary Gillick, the honour of creating the most seen portrait of the new Queen

Equally importantly, the young Prince oversaw the design of the most important coin of the moment – the Coronation Crown, featuring Gilbert Ledward’s Queen on horseback on the obverse and Edgar Fuller’s reverse design containing the Coats of Arms of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom.

The UK’s biggest ever currency change

Gillick’s design remained on pre-decimal coinage until 1970, when Prince Philip was involved in another huge coinage milestone – the introduction of decimalisation

The process required a complete redesign of Britain’s coinage as well as an updated effigy of Her Majesty, designed to help the new denominations stand out. 

The RMAC selected Royal Academician Arnold Machin to sculpt the Queen, this time wearing a tiara.  However, it was the reverse coin designs that were perhaps more significant.

A “monstrous piece of metal”

Under Prince Philip’s presidency, the RMAC started to work in top secret on designs as early as 1962, before there was any official government announcement confirming decimalisation. 

The final designs were created by Christopher Ironside and featured heraldic elements of the United Kingdom. But it was the new 50p coin – introduced to replace the 10/- note – that caused the greatest stir, with its unique heptagonal (7-sided) shape. 

Now Britain’s most popular coin with collectors, that was certainly not the case on its launch with one newspaper calling it a “monstrous piece of metal” and a retired colonel even starting Anti-Heptagonist movement.

In the 28 years that followed Decimalisation, Prince Philip guided the RMAC through two more effigies, Raphael Maklouf (1985 – 1997) and Ian Rank-Broadly (1998 – 2015), as well as the launch of 20p, £1 and £2 coins into circulation and numerous commemorative issues.


Prince Philip will be remembered for many things – and among them we will remember him as the man who has had more influence over the nation’s coins than any other. 

With the release of the new Prince Philip £5, his legacy continues to live on as we celebrate his incredible life and achievements.


Secure your Prince Philip £5 Set today!

Today, you have the opportunity to secure the brand new 2021 UK Prince Philip £5 in Brilliant Uncirculated quality, alongside the 2017 Prince Philip £5 and the 2017 Platinum Wedding £5 coins to make the perfect Prince Philip £5 Set.

Your coins have been struck to a Brilliant Uncirculated finish and protectively encapsulated in official Change Checker packaging to preserve for generations to come.

A real collector’s set, these coins pay a special tribute to the Prince who will forever be remembered as a treasured member of British royal history.

Own yours today for just £50.00 (+p&p) >>

NATIONAL UK £5 FOR £5 BALLOT ANNOUNCED!

This year, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 95th Birthday, making her the first ruling monarch in British history to reach this milestone.

In celebration of this very special royal event, The Royal Mint issued a brand new £5 coin, featuring the Royal Cypher and an inscription taken from Her Majesty’s first televised speech.

But Change Checker is incredibly excited to announce that in celebration of Her Majesty’s birthday, we’re launching a NATIONAL EXCLUSIVE UK £5 for £5 Ballot!

We are giving 1,000 lucky collectors the chance of owning the brand new Queen Elizabeth II 95th Birthday £5 for its FACE VALUE of just £5!

It’s completely free to enter, all you need to do is click here >>

The ballot will close on the 25th June and winners will be contacted on the Monday 28th June with details of how to claim this new £5 coin for just £5 – so you must act fast if you want to be in with the chance!

As the Queen reaches this significant birthday, demand for this coin is already high, not just amongst fans of UK royalty coins but for collectors worldwide.

And now, with this Change Checker £5 Ballot NATIONAL EXCLUSIVE, we’d hate for you to miss out!

To sign-up now, for FREE, simply click here >>

The ONLY WAY to own Britain’s new Royal £5 coin for just £5!

Don’t miss out on your chance of owning the 2021 UK Queen Elizabeth II 95th Birthday £5 for its face value – just £5!

The winners will be contacted June 28th, so you must act fast if you want to be in with the chance! Simply click here to sign up >>

Queen’s Beasts Series Commemorated with FINAL Celebratory £5!

In 2017, The Royal Mint revealed a series of brand new base metal UK £5 coins featuring an intriguing range of creatures called the ‘Queen’s Beasts’.

The series has been inspired by the ten ancestral and heraldic beasts that have watched over Her Majesty The Queen throughout her unprecedented reign – from her coronation to her Sapphire Jubilee and beyond.

Today, the series as a whole has been commemorated with a BRAND NEW celebratory coin as a fitting finale.

Designed by acclaimed Royal Mint engraver, Jody Clark, the reverse of this coin features not just one, but ALL TEN beasts together on a single coin to celebrate the series as a whole.

The design features each heraldic creature from the series in a striking illustration of Her Majesty’s royal line of descent.

Recognisable as national symbols and representations of the great houses that vied for the throne, the beasts include lions, a bull, a falcon, a horse and a greyhound, as well as creatures of myth and legend.

The Queen’s Beast coins have been some of the most popular releases of recent years and this FINAL celebratory coin is the perfect way to complete the series.

To secure yours in Brilliant Uncirculated quality and in Official Change Checker packaging for JUST £10.99 (+p&p), simply click here >>

The History of the Queen’s Beasts

Over 400 years ago Henry VIII commissioned the sculpting of 10 heraldic animal statues. They were produced to represent the ancestry of King Henry VIII and his third wife Jane Seymour. These became known as “The King’s Beasts” and can still be seen to this day, guarding the main entrance to Hampton Court Palace.

The King’s Beasts guarding the main entrance at Hampton Court Palace. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

In 1952, in preparation for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, sculptor Sir James Woodford was tasked to create ten new statues, similar to “The King’s Beasts” but more suited to the Queen.

He created 10 six-foot tall beasts each representing a different part of her genealogy and thus “The Queen’s Beasts” were born.

The 10 beasts were made up of ‘The Lion of England’, ‘The White Greyhound of Richmond’, ‘The Yale of Beaufort’, ‘The Red Dragon of Wales’, ‘The White Horse of Hanover’, ‘The White Lion of Mortimer’, ‘The Unicorn of Scotland’, ‘The Griffin of Edward III’, ‘The Black Bull of Clarence’ and ‘The Falcon of the Plantagenets’.

The Queen’s Beasts £5 coin series.

The Royal Mint Celebrate the Queen’s Beasts with Their Biggest Coin Ever Made

The ‘Queen’s Beasts’ coin is the largest created in The Royal Mint’s history. Source: The Royal Mint.

To mark the conclusion of the Queen’s Beasts commemorative coin collection, The Royal Mint issued a 10kg, 20cm wide coin with the denomination of £10,000.

Taking over 400 hours to produce (including four days of polishing!) this one of a kind original is the latest issue in The Royal Mint’s MasterWorks series.

The production of this coin combined traditional engraving machines to cut the intricate design, followed by a master toolmaker hand-working the coin to remove any marks from the cutting.

One lucky collector is already claimed to be the owner of this masterpiece, having allegedly paying a six-figure amount!

We certainly think it’s an impressive addition to any collection and it’s issue acts as a testament to the popularity and mastery of the Queen’s Beast coins.

Change Checkers have voted for their favourite Queen’s Beasts £5 Coin!

These impressive creatures have each been commemorated on highly sought-after UK £5 coins as a striking illustration of the royal line of descent.

We asked you to vote for your favourite Queen’s Beasts coin and the results are in…

Change Checkers’ votes for their favourite Queen’s Beasts coin from the complete collection.

It seems this brand new 2021 UK Queen’s Beasts £5 coin is the favourite amongst Change Checkers, as it takes an impressive 55% of the votes! The 2017 Unicorn of Scotland comes in second, closely followed by the recent 2021 Griffin of Edward III £5.

Will you be securing the brand new 2021 UK Queen’s Beasts £5 for your collection? Let us know in the comments below!

Secure the 2021 UK Queen’s Beasts £5 in Brilliant Uncirculated Quality!

Own the brand new 2021 UK Queen’s Beasts £5 in CERTIFIED Brilliant Uncirculated quality for JUST £10.99 (+p&p).

Your superior collector quality coin has been protectively encapsulated in Official Change Checker packaging to preserve for generations to come.

Secure your 2021 UK Queen’s Beasts £5 today by clicking here >>