Eight new King Charles III coins were unveiled by The Royal Mint last week, in the biggest change to UK coinage in decades.
Soon, they will start to appear in change throughout Britain.
The new design of the nation’s coins will replace the current shield formation introduced in 2008.
The 1p coin through to the £2 coin now have brand new designs to usher in the reign of the King.
The Royal Mint has unveiled eight new coins from 1p to £2 which will enter into circulation towards the end of 2023
These coins will enter into circulation at the end of 2023, but they can also be bought as part of a collector’s set, starting from £33 for the brilliant uncirculated set and going up tp £7,725 for the gold proof set.
The coins in the collector’s set, unusually, feature a privy mark of a small crown on the obverse or ‘heads’ design next to His Majesty’s effigy, which will mark them out from the ones people will get in their change.
Could the new coins be worth anything in the future?
These are not the first coins featuring King Charles III to enter into circulation as we already have the Memoriam 50p coins, which first entered into circulation in 2022 and the Coronation 50p coins, which entered into circulation earlier this year.
However, this is the very first time that first time that both ‘heads’ and ‘tails’ sides of our coins have changed at the same time.
Whether these coins will go up in value over time depends on how many enter into circulation says Phil Mussell, director of Token Publishing.
He says: ‘The Royal Mint does not dictate how many of the coins will go into circulation, that is dictated by the Treasury and the banks.
‘The value of the coins will be determined by basic supply and demand, if there are 500 collectors and only 400 coins in circulation then they are going to be more sought after.
‘One thing is certain though, The Royal Mint will not do a big replacement of the coinage in one go, it’s going to be a very gradual process.’
A spokesman from The Royal Mint said: ‘It’s too early to confirm quantities and specific denominations at this moment in time.’
Coins enter circulation in line with demand from UK Post Offices and banks.
The Royal Mint responds by issuing coins on behalf of HM Treasury, who ultimately decide how many new coins are issued into circulation.
Website Change Checker estimates that 4.9million 50p King Charles III Memoriam coins entered into circulation at the end of 2022, while 5million 50p King Charles Coronation coins entered into circulation this year.
Is it worth buying a collectible set?
Experts say that the privy mark on coins in the collector’s set could add extra value to the new coins.
Mussell explains: ‘Coins that have visual differences, do attract a small premium, but while a privy mark does attract collectors it that doesn’t necessarily mean the coins go up in value.
‘Not many have had a privy mark before though. I don’t recall The Royal Mint doing this with definitive coins before but they have done this with sovereign coins.
‘But we don’t know if this is going to be a ‘thing’ going forward. If it is and the Royal Mint produces privy marks every year then these coins won’t be any more valuable.
‘If fewer than say 1,000 coins have the privy mark then yes they will attract a premium, if there are 50,000 sets with it on then they won’t.’
Coins to look out for in the set include the £1 coin, which is potentially the most desirable in the set as the design on a £1 coin has not been changed since 2017.
Rachel Barnes, of coin website Change Checker, says: ‘One of the most exciting new coins to be released is the £1. In 2017, the new 12-sided £1 replaced the old round pounds.
‘This coin featured the Nations of the Crown design, which has remained unchanged up until 2023, where we now see the new design featuring two bees.
‘I’m sure collectors will be delighted by this coin, as many have asked us over the years when we will see a new £1 design.’
The £1 which features two bees will potentially be the most sought after in the new set as there has not been a new £1 coin design since 2017
The eight coins each feature different nature designs from across the UK, representing King Charles III’s passion for conservation
The brilliant uncirculated sets are unlimited and retail for £33.
There are 12,023 base proof sets which retail for £99.50.
Three thousand silver proof sets went on sale, priced at £300 and 125 gold proof sets costing £7,725.00. However, both of these sets have already sold out.
Barnes says: ‘What makes these brand new coins extra special is the inclusion of a collectable privy mark on the obverse design.
‘A small crown sets these coins apart from those in your change and appears exclusively on these 2023 dated coins.
‘This special feature is sure to add to the collectability of the set. In fact, all precious metal versions are now off sale at The Royal Mint, just going to show how high demand is.’
Only commemorative coins dated 2023 will have the privy mark and Barnes says: ‘The Royal Mint hasn’t set a date for when these coins will come off sale as of yet, but typically you wouldn’t expect them to continue striking 2023 dated coins as we get into the New Year.
‘We don’t know how many coins have been struck in this specification, or how long the 2023 set stock would last into the New Year if they do decide to stop striking at that point.’
Mussell says the new sets will not necessarily be worth more because this is the very first time the new coins are issued in a set.
He says: ‘Put it like this, I have a 1982 set (first year of 20p) and a 1983 set (first year of £1) and are they worth more because that was the ‘first’? not at all…’
The collectible sets can be bought on the Royal Mint’s website.
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