ROYAL MINT UNVEILS NEW 2017 POUND COIN DESIGN

The new £1 coin will feature a drawing by a 15-year-old who has won a competition to design the "tails" side.

David Pearce, from Walsall, was told the news by Chancellor George Osborne, who said the image would be "recognised by millions in the years ahead".

It features the four plants associated with the four nations that make up the UK.

The new coin has the same shape as the old 12-sided threepence piece (3d) - not used since 1971.

"I was really excited to hear that I had won the competition to design the new £1 coin but hugely shocked as well," said David.

"I heard about the competition through my design teacher at school and I thought I had nothing to lose so I decided to enter.

"I spent a lot of time researching what coin designs looked like and what sort of designs would represent all parts of the UK before submitting my idea and I honestly cannot believe I have won."

His design features the leek, thistle, shamrock and rose, coming out of a royal coronet, or crown.

The Chancellor rang the teenager to tell him the news.

"Designing the new £1 coin was a brilliant opportunity to leave a lasting legacy on what will be the most secure coin in circulation anywhere," he said

David beat competition from more than 6,000 entries and will see his design in circulation in 2017.

The £1 is being replaced for the first time in more than 30 years because of fears it is now easier to counterfeit.

To read the complete article, see:
New £1 coin design, created by a teenager, revealed by Mint (www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/31938400)

It was fifteen-year-old David Pearce’s floral concept that was selected as the favourite from some 6,000 entries. The final design features four emblems to represent each of the nations of the United Kingdom – the rose for England, the leek for Wales, the thistle for Scotland, and the shamrock for Northern Ireland – emerging from a single stem within a crown. These emblems have long been used to represent each of the nations, and have featured on UK coins as recently as 2013/14 on four floral £1 coin designs.

David Pearce’s design has been refined for use on the final coin with the support of the renowned numismatic artist David Lawrence – who designed the 2015 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo UK £5 coin – and lettering expert Stephen Raw – who also advised Jody Clark on the lettering for his fifth Royal portrait design.

To read the complete article, see:
The new £1 coin winning design revealed (http://blog.royalmint.com/new-one-pound-coin-winning-design-revealed/)

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