THE ROYAL MINT'S COLLECTIVE SHIELD REVERSES

Regarding an image of British coins making the rounds on Facebook, John Mutch writes:

[On Wednesday Phil Mernick forwarded a copy of the Royal Mint's press release announcing the new reverse designs for Britain's coins. He writes: "Very different!" Indeed, the new designs will likely take some explanation and some 'getting used to'. As Dick Johnson notes below, the concept is borrowed from the medallic world, although the young designer may well have conceived of it independently. Here is a short excerpt from the Mint's release. -Editor]

"Today, the Royal Mint is proud to unveil the new designs for the reverse of circulating coins used in the United Kingdom. It has been almost 40 years since the most current reverse designs were introduced and the new designs will renew and reinvigorate the UK's coinage.

"A different detail from the shield of the Royal Arms is shown on the reverse of the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins and when placed together the coins reveal the complete shield.

"The Shield of the Royal Arms has been given a contemporary treatment and its whole has been cleverly split among all six denominations from the 1p to the 50p, with the 1 coin displaying the heraldic element in its entirety. This is the first time that a single design has been used across a range of United Kingdom coins.

"Against all the odds, a young artist has won a public competition and devised a stunningly original series that stands as an imaginative and clever solution."

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ROYAL MINT UNVEILS NEW CIRCULATING COIN REVERSE DESIGNS (http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v11n14a21.html)

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