The Royal Mint continues its celebration of the popular culture of British with another delve into the world of children’s literature. This subject has been a big part of a long succession of coloured, themed 50 pence coins, that encompass everything from Star Wars, to dinosaurs, and despite their relative expense, are extraordinarily popular.

Zog is a children’s book series written by Julia Donaldson, and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, (a duo that also produced The Gruffalo) and it tells the story of an accident-prone dragon, who attends a dragon school. It was followed up in 2016 with a sequel titled ‘Zog and the Flying Doctors’, which garnered similar levels of acclaim. Both books were adapted for television by the BBC, and there’s a new television series in production for release later this year, which we understand may run to 52 x 11-minute episodes. The books have sold over 4.5 million copies since they were first published.

The key release is the coloured, heptagonal fifty-pence coin, one that has attracted a whole swathe of collectors in the UK, in particular, and it features a drawing of Zog in flight over a forest landscape, taken from the book. The presentation is excellent, utilising one of those selectively coloured solid acrylic display blocks. The other issue is a 1/40 oz gold, sold in a blistercard. It is a cute piece, ideal for mounting in a child’s necklace, for example, but we think the diameter is too small. They’re 60% heavier than a typical minigold coin (0.8g v 0.5g), yet have a diameter of only 8 mm, which means barely half the face area of the 11 mm minigold. They do seem to exhibit a bit more relief, however, so there is that. A base-metal coin in a cleanly struck form is available with an unlimited mintage, or there’s a coloured version available from the mint, with a mintage of 10,000. All are available now.

PRESS RELEASE: The beloved children’s character Zog is set to appear on his own UK 50p coin as The Royal Mint celebrates 15 years of the much-loved dragon. The collectable coin will be available from today (Zog Day) marking a decade and a half since Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s accident-prone dragon first captured the hearts of both young and old readers across the nation.

The coin’s enchanting design features Zog flying in his full orange glory, complete with tiny wings and determination to earn his golden star at Dragon School. This striking 50p joins The Royal Mint’s acclaimed childhood characters collection, which has previously celebrated literary icons from the world of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler including The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child – coins that have attracted over 80,000 collectors worldwide.

Rebecca Morgan, Director of Commemorative Coin at The Royal Mint, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Zog onto an official UK 50p and as part of our childhood characters coin series. As the dragon who tries his very best – despite his mishaps – Zog represents determination and perseverance, qualities we can all admire. This coin celebrates a character who has become a firm favourite in households across the UK and continues our tradition of honouring beloved children’s literature on our nation’s coinage.”

Julia Donaldson CBE, author of Zog, commented: “I’m delighted that Zog is being celebrated on a UK coin! When I wrote his story 15 years ago, I never imagined he would fly so far into people’s imaginations. Seeing our determined dragon on a 50p piece would definitely earn him a golden star from Madam Dragon!”

Illustrator Axel Scheffler added: “Drawing Zog with his big friendly face and clumsiness has always been such a joy. To see my illustrations transformed onto a coin is an incredible honour. The Royal Mint has captured Zog’s character beautifully – his enthusiasm practically flies off the metal!”

The Zog 50p coin was created in partnership with Magic Light Pictures, the company behind the animated adaptation of the story, ensuring the design remains true to the beloved character millions of children have grown up with.