Coin Info
Australia’s New King Charles III Coin Effigy Revealed!
More than a year after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, The Royal Australian Mint have officially announced the release of their first coins featuring King Charles III.
For the first time in 70 years, and after more than 15.5 billion coins were minted with the face of the late Queen, the Australian $1 coin will feature an effigy of the King.
Credit: AAP
The King’s image
The King’s image that features on these brand new $1 coins will be the official Commonwealth effigy, available for use by all British Commonwealth countries. As with all official portraits of reigning monarchs, the new effigy has been personally approved by King Charles III.
As with our UK coins, this new Australian $1 coin sees the monarch facing the opposite direction to his predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II.
Credit: The Perth Mint
A major change for Australian Coinage
During her reign, six effigies of Queen Elizabeth II have featured on Australian coinage, however the latest change was only 5 years ago. From 1998 to 2018, with the exception of 2000, it was Ian Rank-Broadley’s effigy that featured on Australian coinage.
In 2018, a new effigy of the Queen by Jody Clark was approved and made it’s way onto Australian coins in 2019.
Considering that the Queen Elizabeth effigy only changed fairly recently, the introduction of King Charles III is sure to cause a huge shake up in Australian coinage.
How many will enter circulation?
The final mintage figure of the 2023 Australia $1 is yet to be confirmed, however, The Royal Australian Mint have announced that an estimated 10 million will be circulating by Christmas.
Most Australians will never have held a circulating coin featuring a King on the obverse, so this new issue is guaranteed to attract the attention of not only collectors, but anyone who regularly uses coinage.
The $1 is the only denomination to feature His Majesty at the moment, however The Royal Australian Mint have said that the $2, $5, 10 cent, 20 cent and 50 cent coins will be released gradually next year.
When will we see the King on UK coinage?
Although we’ve already seen the King’s effigy on commemorative UK 50p, £2 and £5 coins since the Queen Elizabeth II Memoriam coin range last year, it’s just been announced that all UK coins are set to change. As the full range of circulating coins from the 1p to the £2 will not only feature the King, but are also set to receive brand new reverse designs.
As perhaps the biggest change we’ve seen to UK coinage in decades, we’re expecting a huge collecting rush for the New UK Coinage for King Charles III and can’t wait to see the new coins when they’re released.
Keep an eye on our social media and website as we’ll be updating you as soon as we have more information on these exciting new coins.
Celebrating a true hero – The UK Mary Seacole £5
For nearly 100 years, the story of an incredible, heroic woman was forgotten, but Mary Seacole is finally receiving the recognition she deserves by being celebrated on a UK coin.
A true likeness
This brand new UK £5 coin has been issued to mark Mary Seacole’s selfless efforts during the Crimean War, where she cared for sick and injured soldiers.
The reverse design by Sandra Deiana is based on a genuine photograph of Seacole. The photograph was taken around 1870 and is now held at Winchester College.
Caring in the crossfire
From the age of 12, Mary Seacole helped her mother, a nurse who specialised in traditional Jamaican medicine. Inspired by her mother and following the death of her husband, Mary focussed on caring for the sick.
Credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Her medical expertise was invaluable during the Crimean War, where, along with Thomas Day, she opened a ‘British Hotel’ near the battlefields. She devoted her time and resources to caring for sick and injured soldiers, even riding on horseback into the battlefields under fire to help men from both sides of the conflict.
The 2023 UK Mary Seacole £5 has been created in collaboration with ‘The Mary Seacole Trust’ to pay tribute to her dedication to helping others.
‘The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands’
In 1957, Seacole penned a memoir, fittingly named ‘The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands’ which detailed her humanitarian contributions during her 75 years. It wasn’t until the 1970s that people started to discover her story and realise how much of an impact she made on history.
Seacole was commemorated with a memorial in 2016 which is located in front of St Thomas’ Hospital. The sculpture was designed by none other than Martin Jennings, the creator of the King Charles III effigy that we see on UK coinage.
Credit: Peter O’Connor aka anemoneprojectors, via Wikimedia Commons
Secure your 2023 UK Mary Seacole £5
You can celebrate Mary Seacole’s eventful life by securing the 2023 UK Mary Seacole £5 in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for just £13.99 (+p&p) >>
Demand Surges for King Charles III Coin Sets
It’s an exciting time in the collecting world, with many ‘firsts’ to look forward to as we enter a new era of King Charles III coinage.
From the first ever King Charles III portrait featuring on our coins, to the UK’s first ever Coronation 50p, there’s already been some remarkable milestones celebrated on the coins you can find in your change.
These issues will undoubtedly become increasingly sought-after in years to come. But demand for King Charles III coins is already proving to be high!
In August, the Isle of Man released the FIRST King Charles III Decimal Coin Set – including all seven of their decimal coins, which lucky islanders will be able to find in their change.
Isle of Man Manx Wildlife Set
I knew these coins would be popular, but I was shocked at just how quickly we sold through our allocation… In fact, all our stocks had completely sold out in just a few days!
Popularity for the first full King Charles III coin set has certainly got us thinking about what could lie ahead for UK coins and just how high the demand might be when we start to see more King Charles coins released.
So far, the 2022 Memoriam 50p and 2023 Coronation 50p have found their way into our change and we released collector maps for both so that Change Checkers can track where across the country these coins are being found.
If you’re lucky enough to have found the new Coronation 50p in your change, make sure you add it to our map here >>
In the meantime, I (like many other collectors) am eagerly awaiting the chance to find more King Charles III coins in my change and build up a new collection.
For almost 70 years, our definitive and commemorative coins have featured the Queen’s portrait, but with a new era of King Charles III coinage upon us, the collecting race begins once again!
Own the Queen Elizabeth II LAST Definitive Coin Set
2022 marked the final year of Her Majesty’s reign and, as such, these 2022 dated definitives coins were the last ever to be issued with the Queen’s portrait on the obverse.