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Sure, not as many of us carry coins around as we used to – but it still feels like an occasion when the Royal Mint reveals new coin designs. Every so often, the Mint reveals special coins designed to mark an anniversary or event, from a 50p celebrating 50 years of Pride to nature-focused ones inspired by King Charles’ love of wildlife.
Last week the Royal Mint revealed its designs for 2024’s commemorative coins – and, excitingly, those designs feature two London landmarks. The Mint’s 2024 collection features five coins commemorating anniversaries and marking events that’ll take place this year.
So, which of those five coins have a London theme? Well, first up is a big one: the £5 coin. The Mint is celebrating the architecture of one of the capital’s biggest tourist spots by sticking Buckingham Palace on its highest-value coin. The coin was designed by artist Henry Gray.
The other London-centric design is on a £2 coin marking the 200th anniversary of the National Gallery. Designed by Edwina Ellis, the coin features the front of the gallery and is enscribed with ‘MAIORVM GLORIA POSTERIS LVMEN EST’, which also features on the Gallery’s Wilkins Building staircase and means ‘the glory of our ancestors is a light to our descendants’. Find out more about the National Gallery’s 200th birthday plans here.
The other coin designs include a 50p marking the 200th anniversary of the RNLI, another 50p themed around Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes and wishing them luck in Paris in the summer, and a £2 coin marking 150 years since the birth of Winston Churchill.
If you were hoping on finding one of these coins next time you get a bit of change, we have disappointing news. These coins are part of the Royal Mint’s commemorative ‘Annual Set’, so are unlikely to enter general circulation. You can buy the set or find out more on the Royal Mint website here.
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