Revealed: the Queen’s 90th Birthday UK Coin for 2016
The details of the new UK £5 Coin to celebrate the Queen’s 90th Birthday next year have been revealed.
The 2016 £5 coin to commemorate the Queen’s 90th birthday
The Royal Mint has now unveiled next year’s £5 coin, but in fact the official Royal Proclamation published in the London Gazette in October also provided collectors with clear design details.
“Full of honour and years”
The new coin will feature a crowned Royal Cypher above the number 90, surrounded by roses.
1996 £5: 70th Birthday
The precious metal versions of the coin (which will apparently be available in Gold, Silver and Platinum) will also feature the edge lettering “FULL OF HONOUR AND YEARS”.
There is a precedent for celebrating the Queen’s birthday milestones, with £5 coins issued in both 1996 and 2006 to mark her 70th and 80th birthdays.
2006 £5: 80th Birthday
The new 2016 90th birthday £5 coin is the next in this special series, and will be eagerly anticipated by UK coin collectors.
Sadly though, it seems unlikely that the Royal Mint will mark the Queen’s Birthday with a return to making the £5 coin available to collectors for face value.
Brand New Remembrance Day DateStamp Issue – available to just 500 collectors!
This 2015 First World War Anniversary Coin has been officially postmarked by Royal Mail on Remembrance Day; 11/11/2015 and has an edition limit of just 500.
Click here for more details
Who needs the 2 pence piece?
A survey by Gocompare recently found that as many as 21% of Britons would like to scrap copper coins, leaving the 5p as the lowest circulating denomination.
Coppers are becoming unpopular
In fact, out of the 2,000 adults who participated in the survey, 68% claimed they prefer to empty their pockets of copper coins rather than carry them around or spend them.
And who can blame them?
To all intents and purposes, 1p and 2p coins are worthless because you can’t use them to buy anything.
Matt Sanders of Gocompare commented: “Our survey suggests that for many people, copper coins have had their day. In a world of higher prices, plastic cards and contactless payments, copper coins seem increasingly worthless and irrelevant.”
Other developed nations such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada have all taken steps to remove their minimum denominations, so why has Britain not yet followed suit?
Retaining the penny makes some sense because of the tendency for businesses to use a 99 pence pricing tactic. But why do we need a 2p coin? Would it be a problem if we were never to see it again?
Scrapping either the 1p or 2p would break up the Royal Arms Shield
The missing jigsaw piece
The answer is: probably not.
However, it would pose a problem for collectors.
The famous Royal Arms Shield jigsaw puzzle which has been a quirky design feature of British coins since 2008 uses the reverse design of every coin from the penny to the 50p – including the 2p.
Could this be the reason that the Royal Mint have been reluctant to scrap it?
What do you think should happen? Have your say in our poll below:
A History of the Pound
We are delighted to feature this post from the Money Matters Team at Sainsbury’s Bank.
The British Pound is the oldest currency in use today. Originally forged from pure silver, it has a fascinating history but is it still as valuable?
From its birth in 760, the Pound has shaped the way we live our lives. Not only has it improved our opportunities to travel, it is the 4th most traded currency and is still established as one of the most valuable currencies in the world.
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