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He has held a lifelong passion for the natural world and efforts to protect it.
Now, King Charles’ love of conservation and the environment have been immortalised in eight new coins unveiled by the Royal Mint which feature animals, flora and fauna that can be found in the UK.
The red squirrel, the hazel dormouse, the Oak tree leaf and the national flowers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland feature on coins ranging from the 1p to the £2 piece, and which will soon appear in people’s change.
King Charles ‘personally approved all the designs and…he was extremely pleased with them’ Caroline Webb, chief marketing officer at the Royal Mint, told the Mail.
The new coins will go into circulation according to demand from banks and post offices.
King Charles’ love of conservation and the environment have been immortalised in eight new coins (pictured) unveiled by the Royal Mint which feature animals, flora and fauna that can be found in the UK
The red squirrel, the hazel dormouse, the Oak tree leaf and the national flowers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland feature on coins ranging from the 1p to the £2 piece
The new 2p coin features a red squirrel design as a homage to the woodland creature that is resident to the UK
The Mint expects that the first new coins will enter circulation by the end of 2023. The new designs will co-circulate for a time with the coins featuring the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The Royal Mint said the new designs – officially known as definitives – signal the final chapter of the King’s transition onto coinage.
The eight new coin designs will replace the shield formation introduced under the late Queen in 2008.
They are unified by a repeating pattern, featuring three interlocking Cs, which gives a ‘nod to the history of coinage, while trying to be modern’ Ms Webb said.
She added: ‘Other Kings and Queens throughout history have used interlocking initials – such as Charles II, who had two, and William and Mary also used interlocking in their cypher.’
King Charles also chose a Latin inscription for the edge of the new £2 coin, which reads ‘In servitio omnium’ meaning: ‘In the service of all’ and references his inaugural speech on September 9 2022.
Anne Jessopp, chief executive officer of the Royal Mint, said: ‘This is a rare and historic moment as the complete set of UK coins change to celebrate a new monarch on the throne.
‘The Royal Mint has struck Britain’s coins for 1,100 years and this collection will proudly take its place amongst the designs of monarchs ranging from Alfred the Great to Elizabeth II.’
The Mint expects that the first new coins will enter circulation by the end of 2023 (Pictured: A new £2 with a thistle design)
The new designs will co-circulate for a time with the coins featuring the late Queen Elizabeth II (Pictured: A new £1 with a bee design)
The Royal Mint said the new designs – officially known as definitives – signal the final chapter of the King’s transition onto coinage (Pictured: A new 50p with a salmon)
The eight new coin designs will replace the shield formation introduced under the late Queen in 2008 (Pictured: A new 20p with a puffin design)
All eight coin designs have been approved by the King (Pictured: A new 1p with a doormouse design)
Chris Barker, information and research manager at the Royal Mint Museum, told the Mail: ‘This really is a watershed moment for the British coinage tradition, because if you go back in the history, it tends to be dominated by heraldry.
‘In this instance, you’ve got a complete break from that, heraldry is by and large gone from these designs and we’re now showing flora and fauna as a complete set for pretty much the first time in our nation’s history.’
He added: ‘The whole point about this series is capturing that conservation message.
‘We are trying to get some of those messages across and create those talking points about some of these species that are at risk. If we can do that with these designs, it’s an important feature.’
Mr Barker added the new set of coins was very much a ‘coinage of now’ and that the Royal Mint had received ‘a direction of travel’ on nature from the Palace.
He added: ‘A good set of coins, and a good coinage design should reflect the era from which they’re from. Given climate change and everything that’s going on, and given that the King himself has campaigned very passionately about nature conservation throughout his lifetime, these are a coinage for our era and for now.’
Gordon Summers, chief engraver at the Royal Mint, said: ‘It takes a great deal of skill to create art on a canvas as small as a 1p or £1 coin. The Royal Mint has honed our expertise over 1,100 years and we can’t wait to see the new coins in the hands of the nation.’
Each coin has been created with the support of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) which helped with ensuring the depiction of the creatures and flowers on the coins was accurate.
Collectors can also buy a commemorative set of the new designs from the Royal Mint’s website, priced from £33.
From Monday, visitors to the Royal Mint Experience in Llantrisant, South Wales will be able to strike their own new design 50p piece.
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