The Royal Mint has been very active of late, and we’ve covered most of the new issues, of course, but the market is busier than ever of late, so to aid a more complete coverage, we’re going to be falling back on these multi-release articles. This time, we’ll have a look at three of the mints latest ranges, two of them additions to existing series, and one a surprisingly overdue look at a British icon.

The first of them is the fifth annual homage to Raymond Briggs’ classic children’s story, The Snowman. A series of heptagonal fifty pence coins, with art by the original artist, Robin Shaw, they have, as a result, impeccable credentials. If you’re a fan of the original works, you’re likely going to love these. The artwork is original, looks terrific on a coin, and even translates to gold with aplomb. A popular culture coin produced in a pure, sympathetic way.

City Views: London, was a great idea, taking a snippet from a period map to depict a historical snapshot of a great city. The second coin has now debuted, and this one uses a 19th century work by a French artist, Jacques Alphonse Testard, to show us a panoramic view of Rome, also drawn from a city high point. It’s a fine concept, and this works as well as the London coin did, although the source material for that was better, in our view, because it was more ‘of its time’. An expansive range from 1 oz silver to 1 kg gold, it’s a good release.

Lastly, Harry Potter has finally hit the British coin world. There are tons of HP coins already on the market, as I sadly found out when compiling a round-up of them all, but none issued for its homeland, the UK. That’s changed now the 25th anniversary of the first book’s publication has come around, and the mint is embarking on a four-coin programme in celebration of a literary juggernaut. The first coin is a terrific depiction of a young Harry Potter, available in two shapes, two metals, and seven variants. The debut coin bodes well for the rest, eschewing the usual gimmickry that is normal in this genre, for a purity of design, something the Royal Mint does well.

PRESS RELEASE

Following the popularity of The Snowman™ coin series, the 2022 design tells the story of a boy, Billy, who discovers the original snowman-making kit hidden under his bedroom floorboards. Billy builds the snowman and, with a little leftover snow, a snowdog. That night, the two come to life and Billy joins them on an enchanting adventure. For the fifth consecutive year, award-winning illustrator Robin Shaw has worked with The Royal Mint, to produce the design celebrating The Snowman™ and The Snowdog. The Royal Mint has introduced innovative digital colour printing technology to bring the design to life, keeping true to the hand drawn, nostalgic quality of Robin Shaw’s original sketches.

Rebecca Morgan, Director of Collector Services at The Royal Mint, said, “The Royal Mint first celebrated the heart-warming tale of The Snowman™ on official UK coins in 2018. Today, we are delighted to introduce another collectable 50p coin to the series, celebrating ten years since the release of The Snowman™ and The Snowdog. This year’s design is just as charming as ever and features an exclusive design by award-winning illustrator Robin Shaw. The Snowman™ and The Snowdog coin beautifully captures the festive magic of a tale that has become a much-loved classic. We hope collectors will love the design as much as we do at The Royal Mint, with the coin making the ideal Christmas gift for loved ones.”

Speaking about the design, award-winning animator and illustrator Robin Shaw said, “It’s a joy to be revisiting The Snowdog after 10 years. I’ve always been rather pleased when he’s around, and imagined him keeping The Snowman company when we’re not looking.”

PRESS RELEASE

The Royal Mint has launched its collectable City Views Rome coin in gold and silver. The release is the second in the City Views collection, which celebrates the breathtaking views of iconic urban landmarks.

The reverse of the coin celebrates Rome’s historic centre, while the obverse side bears the effigy of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth. The City Views collection is one of a small number that will see a change of effigy during the series. The Royal Mint has confirmed that at all coins issued in 2022 will continue to feature Her Late Majesty, while any new releases from 2023 onwards will feature King Charles III on the obverse.

Available in a limited-edition range of gold and silver Proof editions, the coin features the central dome of St Peter’s Basilica at the heart of the design. Based on a long-held numismatic tradition, artists have skilfully rendered intricate details of civic buildings and sprawling suburbs for hundreds of years.

The new coin has been skilfully adapted from a design by the French artist Jacques Alphonse Testard (b. 1810), which shows a panoramic view of the city from atop Janiculum Hill as it was in the nineteenth century. The intricate detail of the original design is achieved, combining traditional craftsmanship and innovative laser cutting technology at The Royal Mint.

MINTS DESCRIPTION:

To mark 25 years since the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, The Royal Mint is celebrating this classic of children’s literature with a collection of UK coins. The idea for Harry Potter, the boy in glasses who didn’t yet know he was a wizard, first came to J.K. Rowling during a delayed train journey from Manchester to London. From that moment of magic, the Boy Who Lived was imagined into being – an unassuming, eleven-year-old hero destined to face terrible danger, but also find greatness within himself.

The reverse of each coin will feature an original illustration by Jim Kay, the artist who created the first fully illustrated edition of this Harry Potter story. The first coin will feature Harry Potter, the boy wizard and hero of the books, followed by three more coin designs featuring the Hogwarts Express, Albus Dumbledore, and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is the first time the wizarding world of Harry Potter has appeared on UK coins struck by The Royal Mint.

Combining traditional minting techniques with technology, The Royal Mint’s craftspeople have faithfully reproduced Jim Kay’s illustrations in colour for the first time on official UK coins. Many of the coins in the range also feature an enchanting ‘latent feature’ which rotates in the light to reveal a lightning bolt and the number ‘25’ to mark the anniversary year*. An advanced picosecond laser was used by The Royal Mint to imprint the intricate design onto coin making tools to ensure accuracy, and create an additional, special effect to further enhance the coin’s design.

Nicola Howell, Chief Commercial Officer at The Royal Mint said, “As the official maker of UK coins, we are delighted to make a spellbinding coin collection to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The first coin in the collection, celebrating Harry Potter, will be available for collectors and fans to buy from today. The collection is expected to be in high demand, as it is amongst a small amount which will see a portrait change during the series. Her Late Majesty will feature on the first two coins launching in 2022, while the final two coins in the collection will feature the official portrait of King Charles III in 2023.

Jim Kay, illustrator and designer of the Harry Potter coin collection commented on producing the coin design, “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It is the same for most aspects of publishing – because you are on your own all of the time in a studio, none of it quite seems real until you see the book on a shelf in a shop. Then you think, ‘oh yeah! I did that!’ This is completely new to me, though, a coin!”

Mandy Archer, Editorial Director at Bloomsbury Children’s Books said, “Bloomsbury Publishing is thrilled to see the Boy Who Lived being celebrated in such a glorious way. The Royal Mint’s stunning coins are the perfect souvenir of Harry Potter’s silver anniversary! Jim Kay’s depiction of the wizarding world is unique and extraordinary – we can’t wait to see his work magically move beyond the printed page and onto this enchanting new medium.

Ffion Gwillim, The Royal Mint designer who modelled the artwork onto coins, said: “The Harry Potter illustrations are so iconic and recognisable, we wanted to faithfully recreate them on a UK coin for the first time. Working with Jim Kay, we’ve created a collection which is a fitting celebration to the original artwork and the iconic story.”