DESIGNER JODY CLARK STRIKES FIRST NEW PORTRAIT COINS

PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE FULL ISSUE PREV FULL ISSUE

V18 2015 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 18, Number 16, April 19, 2015, Article 25

Michael Alexander of Coin Update reported on the striking of the first examples of the new portrait of the U.K.'s Queen Elizabeth II. Thanks to Dick Johnson for passing this along. -Editor

The Royal Mint this morning (17th April) began the minting presses which include the fifth or Clark portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II. All 2015-dated coins from today, from the one penny up to the circulation £2 bi-metallic coins will depict the Queen as designed by Royal Mint designer Jody Clark. Mr. Clark was the successful artist who was awarded the distinctive honor & distinction of having their effigy adorn British coinage, replacing the fourth portrait designed by sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley whose depiction of Her Majesty was used on British and commonwealth coinage since 1998.

Jody Clark was offered the privilege of starting up the presses which will strike his own depiction of The Queen on all newly issued UK coins for general circulation from now on. Just 33 when his design was selected from a number of anonymous submissions to a design competition, Jody is the youngest of the five designers to have created the portraits of The Queen that have appeared on UK circulating coin during her 63 year reign and the first Royal Mint engraver to be chosen to create a definitive royal coinage portrait in over 100 years. His is only the fifth definitive portrait of The Queen to appear on our circulating coins since her accession to the throne in 1952, making it a very rare event indeed.

When the new coins begin to appear in the change of Britons, it will be the fourth portrait currently in circulation since the first portrait created by sculptor Mary Gillick. Her portrait was included only on pre-decimal coins and were eventually all removed from circulation after 1971 and during the program to reduce the diameter 10 and 5 pence coins which made the transition from 2 and 1 shilling coins in 1990 and 1992 respectively. Clark’s portrait joins those created in 1968, 1985 and 1998 and, together the coins that carry them tell the story of Her Majesty’s lifetime and paint a compelling picture of the story of her reign.

While pressing the button to strike a coin isn't nearly as fun as say, pressing a button to blow up an old office building or football stadium, at least instead of a pile of rubble you end up with a nice pile of hot-off-the-presses coins. -Editor

THE BOOK BAZARRE

SELECTIONS FROM THE JOHN HUFFMAN LIBRARY: Browse and Shop Approximately 3,000 Numismatic Books from the Respected Library of John Huffman—All Books Recently Discounted 40%. Click here or go to www.SecondStorybooks.com click on “All Subjects” and select “John Huffman Collection”