The Royal Mint debuts its circulating coin designs for 2019 with a very British selection

The first week of the New Year brings with it the unveiling of the Royal Mint’s circulating currency specials and from there, the inevitable selection of proof silver and gold coins that we all know and love. All the coins below will be available individually as the year progresses, but at present, the only way to get one of them is to buy them all in one of the mints full sets, just like last year.

A very British selection, we get celebrations of the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Queen Victoria, Wedgwood pottery, Samuel Pepys, and D-Day. As well as the usual gold and silver coins, each of these is also available in base-metal form in either a brilliant uncirculated or proof finish.

The currently available sets come in several forms. The five commemorative coins are available in silver (not up yet), silver piedfort (£550) and gold(£5,250). A bigger set of thirteen silver coins includes these five, along with the seven circulating currency designs and Antony Dufort’s gorgeous Britannia, and will cost £610. Available to order now, if you want to buy, please click the link and we’ll get a small tip at no cost to you.

260 YEARS SINCE THE FORMATION OF WEDGWOOD

The first of three £2 coins, this one marks 260 years since the formation of Wedgwood, the world-famous pottery company beloved by collectors. As with aall£2 coins, this one is bimetallic in its circulating form and that is replicated in the precious metal variants. The silver coins have a gilded border, while the 22kt gold is yellow-tinged in the central pill and red-tinged in the outer ring.

The design sticks firmly to the inscription-border and pill-art delineation and that was probably a good decision in this case. The vase in the centre is classic Wedgwood, and even the pattern set in the border evokes the brand. If Wedgwood is your thing, this will appeal, but we’ll be looking at something a little more unusual tomorrow.

MINTS DESCRIPTION: Celebrating the 260th Anniversary of Wedgwood’s formation, The Royal Mint’s £2 coin was designed by the company that remains an innovator in the production of pottery to this day. The coin celebrates Josiah Wedgwood’s pioneering commitment to shaking up one of Britain’s most traditional industries and making luxury affordable.

DENOMINATION £2 UKP (United Kingdom)
COMPOSITION 0.925 silver / gilded 0.925 silver / gilded 0.9167 gold / Yellow & Red
WEIGHT 12.00 grams 24.00 grams 15.97 grams
DIMENSIONS 28.40 mm
FINISH Proof
EDGE TEXT EVERYTHING GIVES WAY TO EXPERIMENT
MINTAGE To be announced

160 YRS SINCE THE BIRTH OF SIR ARTHUR CONAN-DOYLE

The fifty-pence coin has been the one that has captured the publics attention in the UK as they hunt for the rarer issues of the last couple of decades. The choice of Sherlock Holmes for 2019 will no doubt be a popular one, even if the actual design is a little pedestrian. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with it, but one concentrating on the figure rather than than a lot of text would have been a preferential choice for us. There’s no mistaking the subject with the cameo-like depiction of the fictional detective in his deerstalker hat and iconic pipe. We’d suggest the proof versions will look crisper than the uncirculated one shown here.

Of particular note is the fact that this year is also the 50th anniversary of the 50p coin. What effect that will have on its popularity remains to be seen, but a date to be marked, for sure.

MINTS DESCRIPTION: Sherlock Holmes is to feature on a unique 50p coin, 160 years after the birth of Sir Arthur Conan- Doyle. In the intuitive detective’s many adventures pursuing criminals throughout Victorian and Edwardian London, Doyle captured the imagination of millions around the world and his characters endure today.

DENOMINATION £0.50 UKP (United Kingdom)
COMPOSITION 0.925 silver 0.925 silver 0.9167 gold
WEIGHT 8.00 grams 16.00 grams 15.50 grams
DIMENSIONS 27.30 mm
FINISH Proof
EDGE TEXT None
MINTAGE To be announced

350 YEARS SINCE THE LAST ENTRY IN SAMUEL PEPYS DIARY

The second of the three £2 coins, the last entry that Samuel Pepys made into his quite fascinating diary is remembered. It’s an unusual occasion to mark, but somehow more fitting than the usual birth or death anniversaries, as we all manage to get born and die, so why not celebrate the work or event that got the person remembered instead. The usual bimetallic variants that we discussed above are also on offer here.

The depiction of Pepys hand holding a quill and writing the last entry is very appropriate and works well enough, even if the bimetallic colour change is a little intrusive in this case. The Stephen Raw penned coin also carries aan edge inscription.

MINTS DESCRIPTION: 350 years after the final entry into his remarkable diary, Samuel Pepys will be honoured with a £2 coin to commemorate his contribution to the understanding of some of the most historical events of the seventeenth century, ranging from the Great Fire of London to the Plague.

DENOMINATION £2 UKP (United Kingdom)
COMPOSITION 0.925 silver / gilded 0.925 silver / gilded 0.9167 gold / Yellow & Red
WEIGHT 12.00 grams 24.00 grams 15.97 grams
DIMENSIONS 28.40 mm
FINISH Proof
EDGE TEXT THE GOOD GOD PREPARE ME
MINTAGE To be announced

200 YRS SINCE THE BIRTH OF QUEEN VICTORIA

The £5 coin is a perennial favourite and offers a nice, larger sdiameter to show off the art. Designed by Royal Mint regular John Bergdahl, this one celebrates the birth of Queen Victoria. As the monarch that sat on the throne of a country exploding in power, technology and influence, she saw her nation grow from strength to strength. She also sat on the throne for a long time.

Bergdahl’s design takes the machine cogs that fans of steampunk will instantly recognise, and uses them to frame small elements popularly associated with this period in British history. An effigy of Victoria, a steam locomotive (Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’, I believe), a steamship (looks like Brunel’s ‘Great Eastern’), a Penny Farthing bicycle and a telephone all occupy individual frames and are superb choices. The uncirculated coin depicted here will lose some detail from the proof coin, but we’d have liked to have seen a bit more detail overall.

MINTS DESCRIPTION: As 2019 marks the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria, her reign will be celebrated with the launch of a new £5 coin. Even two centuries after her birth, the effect of Queen Victoria’s reign and the era to which she lends her name can still be felt strongly in our everyday lives.

DENOMINATION £5 UKP (United Kingdom)
COMPOSITION 0.925 silver 0.925 silver 0.9167 red gold
WEIGHT 28.28 grams 56.56 grams 39.94 grams
DIMENSIONS 38.61 mm
FINISH Proof
EDGE TEXT WORKSHOP OF THE WORLD
MINTAGE To be announced

75 YEARS SINCE THE D-DAY INVASION

The last £2 coin is also our favourite. Set to mark 75 years since Operation Overlord saw the Western Allies started their large-scale assault on Nazi-occupied Europe, this is a subject that will likely appear on quite a few numismatic issues through 2019 is there is any sense in the market. A subject filled with potential, the Royal Mint left it to Stephen Taylor to design their own entrant.

By and large, we think Taylor has done a great job. A simple design that reminds us of the start of the old hit tv series ‘Dads Army’, it gets the point across perfectly. Despite being a British coin, the US landing beacjhes are given equal prominence. It’s nice to see the bimetallic border ignored and the inscriptions well placed. We’d call this one a success.

MINTS DESCRIPTION: The release of a £2 coin commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings marks an extraordinary event in history that is sure to occupy the thoughts of the nation this year, remembering the heroic efforts of the Allied Forces in a bid which turned the tide of the Second World War.

DENOMINATION £2 UKP (United Kingdom)
COMPOSITION 0.925 silver / gilded 0.925 silver / gilded 0.9167 gold / Yellow & Red
WEIGHT 12.00 grams 24.00 grams 15.97 grams
DIMENSIONS 28.40 mm
FINISH Proof
EDGE TEXT THE LONGEST DAY
MINTAGE To be announced