UK Coin Issues
Celebrate over 250 years of Royal History with the Buckingham Palace £5
When visiting London, there’s one place that’s most likely to be on everyone’s sightseeing list…Buckingham Palace! And as one of the most recognisable buildings in the world, it’s only fitting that it now features on a UK £5 coin!
A design fit for a King…or Queen!
The 2024 UK Buckingham Palace £5 was first issued in January as part of the 2024 Annual Coin Set, but it’s now been individually released!
The design on this new £5, by Henry Gray, pays tribute to the building that carries so much history, with a beautifully detailed depiction of the front of Buckingham Palace. If you look closely, you’ll see the Royal Standard flying, which signifies the presence of a British Monarch, and the whole design is encircled in a floral ring, tying in with the King’s love of nature.
The History of the Palace
Buckingham Palace has been in the Royal Family since 1761, when George III bought it as Buckingham House for his wife, Queen Charlotte, to use as their family home. It wasn’t until 1826 that George IV transformed the house into a palace, however the project took much longer and cost much more than expected and was finished by his successor William IV, although he never actually moved in.
Public Domain
Queen Victoria was the first monarch to take up residence in Buckingham Palace in 1837, and it remained the royal residence and place of official business until the end of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. It now serves as King Charles III’s administrative headquarters, although he doesn’t live there.
Many a state visit and national celebration have taken place at the Palace, most recently the King’s Coronation celebrations and Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. It also facilitated significant moments in history, such as the signing of The London Declaration in 1949 that created the Commonwealth as we know it today.
Credit: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Did you know…Buckingham Palace boasts 775 rooms, a cinema, swimming pool, post office, police station, a doctor’s clinic and a cash machine! It also has the largest private garden in London, covering 42 acres and including a helipad, a lake and tennis courts!
Secure your Buckingham Palace £5
With its rich history, it’s surprising that this is the first time that Buckingham Palace has ever featured on a UK £5 coin. What’s not surprising though, is that the Buckingham Palace £5 was voted your second favourite coin design from the 2024 Annual Set.
This is your chance to hold more than 250 years of royal history in your hands, so click here to secure your 2024 UK Buckingham Palace £5 for just £13.99 (+p&p) >>
A Legendary New Coin – The Maid Marian £5
They say behind every great man is a great woman…and that’s true for the Myths and Legends series, as the Robin Hood £5 is followed by the 2024 Maid Marian £5!
A striking design
The reverse design, by Jody Clark, shows the heroine framed amongst the foliage of Sherwood Forest, with native English foliage including oak leaves and ferns encroaching from the edge of the coin. Marian was known to be a skilful archer, and so she’s pictured with her bow and arrow upon her back.
When talking about his design on the Maid Marian £5, Jody Clark said ‘I wanted to show the connections between each legendary outlaw’s persona and the forest, which serves as both a sanctuary and a strategic ally’.
To highlight the dynamic design, your 2024 UK Maid Marian £5 has been struck to a Brilliant Uncirculated quality – the standard favoured among collectors.
Who is Maid Marian?
Maid Marian didn’t actually feature in any early, medieval versions of the Robin Hood legend, but began to appear in plays and stories in the 1600s. However, despite being a late-comer to the story, Marian has become a very important part of the Robin Hood legend.
Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Known as Robin Hood’s one true love, English folklore depicts Maid Marian as courageous and independent as well as beautiful and loyal. It’s thought that her name was derived from her refusal to marry until Robin Hood and his merry men had received a King’s pardon, as before the 17th century, unmarried women were called maids.
Maid Marian has been portrayed in countless plays, movies, TV shows and other media, usually in human form, but some of you may remember Marian best as Hood’s foxy love interest in the 1973 Disney film ‘Robin Hood’.
Previously in the Myths and Legends series…
The 2024 Maid Marian £5 coin follows on from the Robin Hood £5, however the first three coins in the series focused on Arthurian Legends. The series kicked off with King Arthur, followed by mythical wizard Merlin and the Arthurian Legends collection concluded with shapeshifter and witch, Morgan Le Fay.
King Arthur, Merlin and Morgan le Fay
Continue your Myths and Legends collection
Secure your 2024 UK Maid Marian £5 for just £13.99 (+p&p) >>
The 50p that’s guaranteed to float your boat – The RNLI 50p!
The 2024 UK RNLI 50p has just dropped anchor and is ready to swim straight into your collection!
I know a lot of you will be wanting to get your hands on this one, because we asked you to vote for your favourite design from the Annual Set, and the RNLI 50p won with a huge 50% of the votes!
So if you just cant wait, click here to secure your 2024 UK RNLI 50p for just £5.99 >>
Or, keep reading to find out a bit more…
History of the RNLI
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, better known as the RNLI, was founded by Sir William Hillary in 1824, and 2024 marks its 200th anniversary. From being the first organization to use steam-driven lifeboats in 1890, to providing crucial maritime support during the first and second world wars, to opening their training college in 2004 – the RNLI have been making history and saving lives at sea for 2 whole centuries.
Credit: Chris Downer, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Each year, coins marking key anniversaries and historical figures are chosen to feature in the Annual Set – and this year was no exception with coins celebrating the National Gallery, Sir Winston Churchill, the Paris Olympics and of course, the RNLI.
A ‘mast’erpiece designs
The reverse design incorporates key symbols of the RNLI, with the flag in the centre, surrounded by a life ring and rope. Inscribed on the life ring are the years of the charity 1824-2024 as well as ‘200 years’, marking that incredible milestone.
Did you know…
The iconic RNLI flag wasn’t introduced until 1908. The first version designed by Leonara Preston in 1884 who used the St George’s cross as the basis for the flag, adding the RNLI lettering, the Tudor Crown worn by King George VI and a foul anchor in the centre.
Credit: Sodacan, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Credit: Oast House Archive, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The design was updated in 1953 to represent the change of monarch to Queen Elizabeth II when the Tudor Crown was swapped for the St Edwards Crown. It’s this version of the flag that’s been proudly flown at all lifeboat stations since, but I wonder if they’ll change the design again for King Charles III?
Let us know what you think in the comments!
Supporting a great cause
As well as a design paying tribute to 200 years of the institution that has saved over 144,000 lives, The Royal Mint are donating 5% of every RNLI 50p sold to the charity*, allowing them to continue their great work.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen proceeds from a UK coin go to a worthy cause. Just last year, The Royal Mint donated 100% of the profits from the 2023 NHS 50p to NHS Charities Together, an organization that provides incredible support to NHS staff, patients and communities.
The 2023 UK NHS 50p commemorated 75 years of the National Health Service, and it’s estimated that the total donation figure reached £225,000 – an incredible way to celebrate three-quarters of a century of the great British organization.
So do you agree with 50% of collectors – is the RNLI 50p your favourite coin from the 2024 Annual Set? Perhaps you have a personal story involving the RNLI that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments!
Secure your 2024 UK RNLI 50p
Secure yours 2024 UK RNLI 50p for just £5.99 >>
*The Royal Mint Limited will contribute 5% of the price excluding VAT in support of the RNLI. Payments are made to RNLI (Sales) Ltd (which pays all its taxable profits to the RNLI, a charity registered in England and Wales (209603),Scotland (SC037736), the Republic of Ireland (20003326), the Bailiwick of Jersey (14), the Isle of Man (1308 and 006329F) and the Bailiwick of Guernsey and Alderney.