Let’s start the year with a look at the Royal Mints 2017 themed circulating currency designs.

In an impecable bit of timing, the Royal Mint has announced its new themed designs for British circulating and general commemorative currency for 2017. Obviously the big news is the arrival of an all-new bi-metallic £1 coin, now with 12-sides instead of being round. For our purposes however, the new themes for the 50p, £2 and £5 coins is no doubt what you’ve been waiting for.

First up is our favourite, a look at aviation in the First World War. A very clever perspective manages to depict both the dangerous and fragile nature of the air war, as well as the static nature of the ground conflict. Inscriptions are placed unobtrusively and the design just works for me. We’d rather see this on a plain silver coin as the bimetallic finish is somewhwat distracting in some areas, but that’s the nature of the beast so a problem we can certainly live with.

Next up is a commemoration of a millenia old event, the coronation of King Canute (Cnut). An unusual design, it works well we think, although we can see it being a love or hate coin. Jane Austen’s death is remembered in the second £2 bi-metallic coin. The writer of Pride & Predujice and Zombies is very much a part of the British identity and the inclusion of this as one of this years themes is of no surprise. We think this one is a little too over detailed for the format, the inscriptions around the edge in particular getting lost in the design.

If anyone should be guaranteed remembrance on a coin, it’s former Master of the Royal Mint and all-round egg-head, Sir Isaac Newton. A good design showcasing one of the principle theories he’s known for, the planetary motion image fits the awkward coin shape well. While unlikely to hit a collector frenzy like last years Peter Rabbit coins, this one deserves to do well. Finally, it wouldn’t be the Royal Mint if there wasn’t a royal-themed coin. Fortunately, the Windsor dynasty has reached the ripe old age of 100. A typical piece of work, fans of these coins, and there are many of them, will no doubt find much to like here. A little busy, but a good effort.

Plenty of sets which you can see lower down, the images here are not of the proof quality precious metal variants, which we’ll cover through the year as they come out, but of the standard brilliant-uncirculated base metal ones. Clearly the proof versions will have much sharper designs, so remember that you’re not looking at these in their best, or most relevant guises. All have gold and silver variants coming, including Piedfort (double-thickness) silver versions. The sets should be up for sale shortly.

The House of Windsor came into being in July 1917 by proclamation of George V, when the Royal Family gave up the German name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha which had come to them in 1840 with the marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert. Since then the House of Windsor has produced four monarchs who have reigned over Britain and the Commonwealth for 100 years. From the devastation of the First World War and the break-up of the British Empire, through the Second World War and into the modern media age, they have remained leaders and ambassadors for British values at home and across the world.

DESIGN: Timothy Noad

EDGE INSCRIPTION: The christening of a dynasty

As usual, the Royal Mint will have plenty of boxed sets to choose from. There are to be four different sets with the coins struck in base metal, three of them to a proof finish. Precious metal sets are also well catered for with a grand total of five different ones up for sale.

Take the price of the silver proof commemorative coin set as subject to change. The £595.00 price is significantly more than we’d expect and not in line with previous years so it may be a typo. Also, the press release states there are four coins in the gold proof set, but the image shows an extra one for a total of five, in our view the more likely number. Until we can get them confirmed, take the information in the table below as potentially incorrect.