Posts Tagged ‘numismatics’
The designers behind the faces on our coins
In the last century, there have been 9 different designers who have created the effigies of monarchs that feature on UK and Commonwealth coin obverses.
The most recent change in designer came after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, when the baton was passed from Jody Clark to Martin Jennings to create the UK coinage portrait of King Charles III.
Let’s look back at those who designed the portraits that feature on every coin in our pockets…
George William de Saulles
Credit: Look and Learn.
George William de Saulles worked at The Royal Mint from 1892 as ‘Engraver to the Mint’, engraving the dies for what would become known as the ‘Old Head’ or ‘Widowed Head’ coinage of 1893, featuring a portrait of Queen Victoria. de Saulles went on to design the obverse portrait of Edward VII, used on UK coins from 1902 until the end of his reign in 1910.
Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
When George V became King in 1910, Australian born sculptor Bertram Mackennal was responsible for the design on the coronation medal, the obverse of UK currency, postage stamps and military honours for King George V.
Mackennal was also commissioned to produce several monuments and statues around the world, including his home country of Australia, India and Scotland. He was appointed M.V.O. in 1912 and knighted in 1921, making him the first Australian-born artist to be so honoured.
(Thomas) Humphrey Paget
Credit: Royal Mint Museum
Humphrey Paget designed the effigy for King Edward VIII, however due to his short reign and abdication, Paget’s designs never reached the minting stage. Some trial pieces did find their way out of the mint for testing purposes, and these are thought to be some of the most rare and collectible pieces of all sterling coinage.
Mary Gillick
Credit: Royal Mint Museum
Mary Gillick was the first artist to design a Queen Elizabeth II portrait, and remains the only female designer of UK coinage obverse effigies. Her portrait, used on UK coinage between 1953 and 1970, shows Her Majesty uncrowned and was the last to be used on pre-decimal coinage.
Arnold Machin
Credit: Royal Mint Museum
Arnold Machin designed the royal portrait which featured on the first UK decimal coins from 1968 to 1984. He also created the reverse design of the 1972 Silver Wedding Crown, the obverse and reverse of the 1977 Silver Jubilee Crown and the royal portrait which appeared on definitive British stamps between 1967 and 2023.
As well as designing UK coinage and stamps, Arnold Machin’s designs were also used on coins in Rhodesia in 1964, Canada between 1965-1889, Australia between 1966-1984 and New Zealand in 1967-1985.
Raphael Maklouf
Credit: Tower Mint
In 1982, The Royal Mint asked 17 artists to submit models of Queen Elizabeth II to be considered a replacement for Arnold Machin’s then-outdated likeness of the Queen on UK and Commonwealth coinage. The Royal Mint Advisory Committee selected Israeli-born British sculptor Raphael Maklouf’s design, now known as the ‘Third Portrait’ to take over, and it featured on UK and Commonwealth coins until from 1985 until 1997.
Ian Rank-Broadley
Credit: Tatler
Ian Rank-Broadley won The Royal Mint’s competition to design a new Queen Elizabeth II effigy in 1997, making him the designer of the ‘Forth Portrait’. Rank-Broadley was influenced by Pistrucci’s portrait of George III which was issued in 1817, where the head crowds the field of the coin. His portrait featured on UK and Commonwealth coinage between 1998 and 2015.
Jody Clark
Credit: The Mirror
In 2015, Jody Clark’s submission to a design competition was chosen to become the fifth coin portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. At 33 years old, he was the youngest designer to have designed a portrait for British coinage. He was also the first designer to use computer-aided design software when creating his portrait. Despite the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, Clark’s portrait continues to feature on the UK coins featuring Her Majesty which currently co-circulate with new King Charles III coins.
Martin Jennings
Credit: The Royal Mint
Martin Jennings is a British sculptor renowned for his public sculptures across the UK. His most notable and admired works include statues of prominent writers and poets, such as John Betjeman at St Pancras Station and Charles Dickens in Guildhall Square, Portsmouth.
The Royal Mint commissioned Jennings to design the first definitive coinage portrait of King Charles III in 2022 which features on all new UK King Charles III commemorative and definitive coins. Jennings also created a special crowned effigy version of the UK Coronation 50p and £5 which is only available on the collector editions of these coins, setting it apart from the Coronation 50ps you can find in your change.
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Can you spot the ‘major design error’ on The Gruffalo’s Child 50p?
I knew this 50p would hit the headlines, but I didn’t think it would be because of a major design ‘error’!
The brand new 50p released today celebrates the 20th anniversary of the best-selling children’s book – The Gruffalo’s Child. Following in the footsteps of the sell-out Gruffalo 50ps from 2019, the 2024 The Gruffalo’s Child is already proving incredibly popular with collectors.
But you might already have noticed something unusual is afoot with the coin’s design…
How many toes?
The coin’s design brings to life a pivotal moment in the story when the Gruffalo’s Child comes face to face with the cunning mouse. The mouse can be seen to the left, sporting a sneaky smirk and the Gruffalo’s Child waits anxiously on the right, Stick Man in hand.
Whilst I’m sure you’ll agree this new 50p is simply adorable, what you might not have realised is that the design includes a major ‘error‘…
If you look closely, you’ll see the Gruffalo’s Child is depicted with three toes on each foot. Interestingly, eagle-eyed collectors out there have noticed that this could be a potential error on the coin. That’s because the original illustrations from the book show the Gruffalo’s Child with four toes (or rather claws!) on each foot, as does the 2011 BBC film adaptation.
Although the coin design features an image taken from an illustration in the book, it seems that the book version shows the Gruffalo’s Child’s toes hidden in the snow, whereas they can be seen above the snow on the coin. And this is where the ‘error’ can be spotted.
You’ll also notice that although the footprints in the snow aren’t clearly defined in the original illustration, on the coin they clearly show just three toes on each of the Gruffalo’s Child’s footprints.
Whilst this could be due to the viewing angle where two toes might be hidden by the snow, there’s no doubt that the footprints only have three toes on each!
Previous design ‘error’
This isn’t the first time there’s been a design ‘error’ like this on a UK coin, as the 2021 H. G. Wells £2 featured a four-legged tripod, making it arguably one of the most controversial and talked about coin designs in recent years. The unusual design hit the headlines when collectors noticed the additional leg featuring on the Martian from Wells’ famed War of the Worlds when the coin was issued in the 2021 Annual Coin Set.
Could this make The Gruffalo’s Child 50p even more sought-after?
This isn’t technically an ‘error coin’, but could show an issue with the design if indeed The Gruffalo’s Child is missing two toes!
Something like this generally makes coins even more collectible and sought-after amongst collectors. It certainly makes for interesting collecting and, with press articles already popping up about the ‘major error’, this 50p is certainly one to watch…
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The importance of security features on UK coins
When it comes to the coins jingling in your pocket, the Royal Mint employs a number of sophisticated techniques to ensure each coin is secure and genuine.
But how much do you actually know about the security features that keep your coins safe?
Visible security features
Bi-metallic design
The distinctive bi-metallic design seen in coins like the twelve sided £1 coin and post 1997 £2 coins is not just an aesthetic choice, but an advanced security feature. The combination of two different metals – a nickel-brass outer ring and a cupronickel inner core – increases the complexity of the minting process, making fraud significantly more challenging.
Milled edges and edge lettering
First introduced by the Royal Mint in the 1660s, the complex process of adding milled (grooved) edges or edge lettering to UK coinage not only provides a high degree of visual security, but also makes the coins difficult to counterfeit accurately.
Lenticular features
Special lenticular imaging is another ingenious feature incorporated into some UK coinage. This involves an image that changes appearance when the coin is titled at different angles. The bi-metallic £1 coin, first issued in 2017, showcases this feature beautifully. When tilted, the pound sign (£) changes to the number one (1), creating a dynamic visual effect that is not only mesmerising but also serves as a powerful deterrent against counterfeiters.
Fine engraving, design decisions and micro-lettering
The introduction of new cutting techniques for steel tooling, combined with advancements in computer-aided modelling, has enabled coin designers to incorporate previously unattainable details. These details are as complex as those on a banknote but benefit from being three-dimensional.
Some bi-metallic coin designs extend across both the inner and outer sections of the coin, adding a layer of complexity that helps deter forgery.
Certain coins even include micro-lettering, an advanced design feature that’s hard to produce with consistent quality. For example, the lower inside rims of both the obverse and the reverse of the twelve sided £1 coin feature micro-lettering.
Shape
The introduction of the dodecagonal (twelve sided) £1, first issued in 2017, serves as another security feature. The distinctive shape of the coin makes it much more difficult to counterfeit compared to the previous round pound design.
Hidden Security Features
Secret messages (Electromagnetic signature)
Some new coins are fitted with a special plating that contains an electromagnetic signature (EMS). When passed through a small electromagnetic field, each coin creates ripples or other disturbances that can be detected and analysed. Different combinations of size and metal cause distinct patterns when the coins are passed through such a field. The distinct pattern of a particular coin is called its ‘electronic signature’.
‘Hidden’ unknown security feature
The Royal Mint announced that the twelve sided £1 coin includes a secret ‘High Security Feature’ which is even more advanced than an Electromagnetic Signature. Details of this feature are top secret, but it’s thought to involve material within the plating layer of the coin which can be detected when electronically scanned by coin-counting or payment machines.
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