The Royal Mint’s ‘British Monarchs’ proof coin series jumps forward to King Edward VII for its fourth release

The ‘British Monarchs Collection’ continues to power on at a brisk speed with the fourth issue in 2022, in what will be a 21-coin, 5-year programme. Focusing on the reproduction of classic coin designs from history, from the Tudor, Stuart, Hanover, and Saxe-Coburg, Gotha & Windsor dynasties, we’ve already seen issues for the first three of those, and this latest release brings in the last of them.

King Edward VII reigned from 1901 to 1910, a period of relative peace after the Victorian Age, and before the world plunged into war. He was known as being the longest waiting heir apparent in British history, until Prince Charles came along and said ‘hold my beer’… He made quite a few changes to the way the monarchy was run, and was passionate about the modernisation of Britain’s armed forces, which stood the country in good stead just four years after his death.

His effigy was created by the engraver George William De Saulles, and it is this that has been recreated by the Royal Mint for its latest entrant in the series. It’s a fine looking period piece, uncorrupted with unnecessary flourishes. The series is doing a good job at highlighting Britain’s numismatic history in the purest form possible. The obverse has Elizabeth II’s effigy on it, but from 2023 will transition to that of King Charles III.

The range is quite extensive, continuing to be made up of four silver (1, 2, 5, 10 oz) and three gold (1, 2, 5 oz) issue. All of them are well presented, of course, and there’s the obligatory Certificate of Authenticity. Prices are on the higher side, but you already knew that, Available to order now, it’s a great addition to a solid series. We’ll collect the four issues into one of our Coin Series Profiles soon.

PRESS RELEASE

The Royal Mint has revealed the fourth coin in the popular British Monarchs coin collection, featuring the portrait of Edward VII. The traditional Edward VII portrait has been remastered in definition using the latest technology and minting techniques on the reverse side of the coin, while the obverse side of the coin will feature Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth, due to striking prior to Queen Elizabeth’s passing.

The British Monarchs’ collection sees 21 coins released over five years spanning four Royal Houses – Tudor; Stuart; Hanover; Saxe-Coburg, Gotha, and Windsor. Coins issued in 2022 will continue to feature Queen Elizabeth, while any new releases struck from 1st January 2023 onwards will feature King Charles III on the obverse, to minimise waste or unnecessary environmental impact. This means that the collection will feature two different effigies, a rare occurrence in a numismatic series such as British Monarchs.

The portrait of Edward VII was originally created by the engraver George William De Saulles, and this ‘bare head’ portrait defined Edward VII’s nine-year reign. The name ‘bare head’ comes from the absence of a crown or laurel wreath in the portrait, which appeared in coinage portraits of previous British monarchs; De Saulles also created an alternative crowned portrait of Edward VII that appeared on some overseas coinage. The Edwardian era saw a great advancement in minting processes. The use of large-scale models in the designing process invited the hand of the sculptor, rather than the engraver, to create stylised naturalistic portraits with personality.

As the firstborn son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Edward VII was always destined to be king. By the time he inherited the throne at the age of 59, he was the longest-serving heir apparent in British history, and a well-travelled and popular public figure. Edward VII’s relatively short reign saw the modernisation of the military and navy, and disputes settled with France, both of which proved vital when war broke out years later.

By the time Edward VII inherited the throne in 1901, the United Kingdom’s presence across the globe was so great that approximately a quarter of the world was under British influence. Trading between countries had given rise to the popularity of The Sovereign, also known as the ‘chief coin of the world’.