The designers behind the faces on our coins
In the last century, there have been 9 different designers who have created the effigies of monarchs that feature on UK and Commonwealth coin obverses.
The most recent change in designer came after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, when the baton was passed from Jody Clark to Martin Jennings to create the UK coinage portrait of King Charles III.
Let’s look back at those who designed the portraits that feature on every coin in our pockets…
George William de Saulles
Credit: Look and Learn.
George William de Saulles worked at The Royal Mint from 1892 as ‘Engraver to the Mint’, engraving the dies for what would become known as the ‘Old Head’ or ‘Widowed Head’ coinage of 1893, featuring a portrait of Queen Victoria. de Saulles went on to design the obverse portrait of Edward VII, used on UK coins from 1902 until the end of his reign in 1910.
Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
When George V became King in 1910, Australian born sculptor Bertram Mackennal was responsible for the design on the coronation medal, the obverse of UK currency, postage stamps and military honours for King George V.
Mackennal was also commissioned to produce several monuments and statues around the world, including his home country of Australia, India and Scotland. He was appointed M.V.O. in 1912 and knighted in 1921, making him the first Australian-born artist to be so honoured.
(Thomas) Humphrey Paget
Credit: Royal Mint Museum
Humphrey Paget designed the effigy for King Edward VIII, however due to his short reign and abdication, Paget’s designs never reached the minting stage. Some trial pieces did find their way out of the mint for testing purposes, and these are thought to be some of the most rare and collectible pieces of all sterling coinage.
Mary Gillick
Credit: Royal Mint Museum
Mary Gillick was the first artist to design a Queen Elizabeth II portrait, and remains the only female designer of UK coinage obverse effigies. Her portrait, used on UK coinage between 1953 and 1970, shows Her Majesty uncrowned and was the last to be used on pre-decimal coinage.
Arnold Machin
Credit: Royal Mint Museum
Arnold Machin designed the royal portrait which featured on the first UK decimal coins from 1968 to 1984. He also created the reverse design of the 1972 Silver Wedding Crown, the obverse and reverse of the 1977 Silver Jubilee Crown and the royal portrait which appeared on definitive British stamps between 1967 and 2023.
As well as designing UK coinage and stamps, Arnold Machin’s designs were also used on coins in Rhodesia in 1964, Canada between 1965-1889, Australia between 1966-1984 and New Zealand in 1967-1985.
Raphael Maklouf
Credit: Tower Mint
In 1982, The Royal Mint asked 17 artists to submit models of Queen Elizabeth II to be considered a replacement for Arnold Machin’s then-outdated likeness of the Queen on UK and Commonwealth coinage. The Royal Mint Advisory Committee selected Israeli-born British sculptor Raphael Maklouf’s design, now known as the ‘Third Portrait’ to take over, and it featured on UK and Commonwealth coins until from 1985 until 1997.
Ian Rank-Broadley
Credit: Tatler
Ian Rank-Broadley won The Royal Mint’s competition to design a new Queen Elizabeth II effigy in 1997, making him the designer of the ‘Forth Portrait’. Rank-Broadley was influenced by Pistrucci’s portrait of George III which was issued in 1817, where the head crowds the field of the coin. His portrait featured on UK and Commonwealth coinage between 1998 and 2015.
Jody Clark
Credit: The Mirror
In 2015, Jody Clark’s submission to a design competition was chosen to become the fifth coin portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. At 33 years old, he was the youngest designer to have designed a portrait for British coinage. He was also the first designer to use computer-aided design software when creating his portrait. Despite the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, Clark’s portrait continues to feature on the UK coins featuring Her Majesty which currently co-circulate with new King Charles III coins.
Martin Jennings
Credit: The Royal Mint
Martin Jennings is a British sculptor renowned for his public sculptures across the UK. His most notable and admired works include statues of prominent writers and poets, such as John Betjeman at St Pancras Station and Charles Dickens in Guildhall Square, Portsmouth.
The Royal Mint commissioned Jennings to design the first definitive coinage portrait of King Charles III in 2022 which features on all new UK King Charles III commemorative and definitive coins. Jennings also created a special crowned effigy version of the UK Coronation 50p and £5 which is only available on the collector editions of these coins, setting it apart from the Coronation 50ps you can find in your change.
Find out more about your coins
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use!
