‘Slide to the Left: Royal Mint Unveils King Charles III’s New Coins
© AFP 2023 / DANIEL LEAL
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Charles acceded to the throne Sept. 8 after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who served as Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. She died at the age of 96.
Britain’s Royal Mint has unveiled the very first coins that will bear King Charles’ face, the latest development to mark the new era of the royal family.
The new king’s likeness was created by Martin Jennings, a British sculptor specializing in bronze and stone. Charles’ coins will join the roughly 27 billion coins depicting his mother starting in December.
“It is the smallest work I have created, but it is humbling to know it will be seen and held by people around the world for centuries to come,” said Jennings, who said the portrait was sculpted from a photo of Charles.
We are proud to unveil the first official coin portrait of King Charles III which has been designed by Martin Jennings FRSS and personally approved by His Majesty.
— The Royal Mint (@RoyalMintUK) September 29, 2022
The first coins to feature the effigy are part of a memorial collection for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. pic.twitter.com/umrUBbUCBr
Anne Jessopp, the chief executive of the Royal Mint, shared some of the history behind the practice:
“When first we used to make coins, that was the only way that people could know what the monarch actually looked like, not in the days of social media like now. The portrait of King Charles will be on each and every coin as we move forward.”
The Royal Mint has depicted Britain's royal family on coins for over ten centuries, documenting each monarch since Alfred the Great. The coin for Charles III will feature the king without a crown, bordered with a Latin inscription translating to “King Charles III, by the Grace of God, Defender of the Faith.”
In keeping with tradition, the king’s portrait faces the left — the opposite direction of his mother’s, Queen Elizabeth II, for whom a separate commemorative 5-pound coin will be released on Monday.
The Best Way to Go: Queen Elizabeth Died From ‘Old Age,’ Official Certificate Says
Aside from the incoming currency bearing Charles’ likeness, Thursday also saw the release of the late queen’s death certificate, which detailed the monarch’s death was due to “old age.”
According to the UK’s National Health Service, “old age” can only be listed as the sole cause of death on a medical certificate if the certifying doctor has “treated the deceased over a long period, observed a gradual decline in the patient’s health, are not aware of any identifiable disease or injury that contributed to the death, and the patient was 80 or over.”
Douglas Glass, the medical practitioner who certified the entry in the registrar, has served in the role of Apothecary to the Household at Balmoral since 2009.
The release comes only two days after officials announced that the period of mourning for the queen had officially come to an end.
