Hugely popular Beatrix Potter series back for a third year with four new British coins

Four coins were released in 2016 celebrating the iconic Tales of Peter Rabbit by the author Beatrix Potter and they became what can only be described as a massive hit. Selling out quickly and bringing the Royal Mint website to its knees, the coins returned again in 2017 with four new entrants. It wasn’t much of a stretch to guess there would be further additions this year and that has indeed proven to be the case.

No changes on the format of course. As 50p pieces the coins weigh a quarter of an ounce and are seven-sided. The obverse has Jody Clark’s effigy of Queen Elizabeth II at its centre. The four subjects are to be released one per month with Peter Rabbit available now, Flopsy Bunny in March, The Tailor of Gloucester in April and Mrs Tittlemouse in May. A coloured image of the character along with their inscribed name dominates the reverse face. Designed again by Emma Nobel, the artwork will be instantly recognisable to fans and collectors of earlier coins should be pleased enough.

The solid acrylic frames are superb and make the coin easy to display if you so wish. Mintages have risen again, a mistake we feel, but only for the first two coins. Jumping from 30,000 (still the number for the April and May releases) to 35,000 in this packaging, with 10,000 more overall of each (Royal Mail black-box, Book sets etc.). We’d be surprised if the frenzy was as great this year, but we’d also expect these to sell very well, even with the hefty £60 per coin list price. A base-metal version with an unlimited mintage and attached to a card is also available for £10.00. A gold Peter Rabbit coin, as well as premium boxed silver variants with exclusive books included, are also available, just like last year. These are expensive, however.

Born in 1866, Beatrix Potter was an English author world reknowned for her series of childrens books starting with The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She wrote around 30 books over her life, the 24 children’s tales being those she is best known for. A broad selection of eclectic characters have endeared her works to generation after generation of readers, both young and old. Even today, over 2 million Tales of Beatrix Potter books are sold every year and in September 2016, a previously unknown manuscript that was uncovered in the archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Titled The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots, the book was published in 2017 and was illustrated by Quentin Blake.