Coin News
Upcoming UK coin releases! Here’s what we know so far
It’s been almost 2 years since the first King Charles III coins were issued, and we’ve seen some incredible UK coins issued, with a wide variety of themes, from royalty to board games!
As collectors, we love to know what’s coming next, so we’re delighted to share with you everything we know about upcoming UK coin releases, according to the latest Royal Proclamations and Privy Council Meetings.
Upcoming 50p Coin Releases
The Snowman™
It’s that time of year again, the countdown to the festive season is on, and this year’s The Snowman™ 50p has been announced!
We’ve been treated to a new The Snowman™ 50p every year since 2018, each one featuring iconic scenes such as The Snowman™ and James flying through the night sky, dancing in the snow and sharing adventures – we even saw The Snowdog™ make an appearance on the 2022 The Snowman™ and Snowdog™ 50p!
The 2025 The Snowman™ 50p is set to feature The Snowman™ and the boy from the original book with a decorated Christmas tree and lights.
Upcoming £2 Coin Releases
200 Years of the Zoological Society of London
2026 marks 200 years of the Zoological Society of London, and the institution is going to feature on a UK coin for the first time ever.
Image Credit: London Zoological Society building by Stephen Craven via Wikimedia Commons
The Royal Proclamation revealed that the society would feature on a new UK £2 coin, and that the reverse design would feature a depiction of a dove, a snail and a tiger accompanied by the inscription “1826 · ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON · 2026”. The coin shall also have a plain or grained edge and in incuse letters the inscription “· RESTORING WILDLIFE TOGETHER”.’
For some, this coin will be reminiscent of the 2011 WWF 50p that features 50 different icons to represent the variety of work which the organisation is involved with. With just 3,400,000 WWF 50ps in circulation, it’s one of the less common commemorative 50p designs out there.
Upcoming £5 Coin Releases
Portraits of Queen Elizbeth II
A new series of £5 coins will be issued, each featuring a different coinage portrait of Her Late Majesty.
The first coin in the series, featuring the Mary Gillick Portrait and the years 1953-1967, is now available, with the remaining 4 coins still to come.
Secure the Portraits of Queen Elizabeth II Mary Gillick Portrait £5 for your collection >>
After releasing the first coin in the series, The Royal Mint also revealed when the following coins will be available:
Arnold Machin Portrait 1968-1984 – available November 2025
Raphael Maklouf Portrait 1985-1997 – available December 2025
Ian Rank-Broadley Portrait 1998-2015 – available January 2026
Jody Clark Portrait 2015-2022 – available February 2026
100 Years Since the Birth of Queen Elizbeth II
To mark 100 years since the birth of Queen Elizabeth II in 2026, a UK £5 coin will be issued. The design of the coin shall feature a depiction of Queen Elizabeth II Royal Cypher, with the St Edward’s crown surrounded by decorative elements, accompanied by the inscriptions “QUEEN ELIZABETH II EXALTABITUR IN GLORIA” and “1926 2026”.
Image Credit: Joel Rouse/ Ministry of DefenceDerivative: nagualdesign, OGL 3 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3, via Wikimedia Commons
Never miss a future UK coin issue!
With such exciting releases on the horizon, you really won’t want to miss out on these incredible new coins. So why not take away the worry and guarantee yourself every new UK coin issue, without the hassle of placing orders on launch day?
Join the Change Checker UK CERTIFIED BU Subscription Service and be one of the first to receive new UK coins as soon as they are released!
Hunt is on to Collect the RAREST Queen Elizabeth II £1 Coin!
Listen up collectors! It’s just been announced that the 2022 dated Nations of the Crown coin is the rarest Queen Elizabeth II £1 in circulation and the hunt is now on to find one in your change!
Of the 23.29 million Queen Elizabeth II £1 coins set to enter circulation this year, just 7.735 million of these are 2022 dated, making it the rarest Queen Elizabeth II 12-sided £1 coin.
The decision to release more Queen Elizabeth II £1 coins into circulation marks a pivotal time for collectors. This is the end of an era for Queen Elizabeth II coinage, as no more coins featuring Her Majesty’s portrait on the obverse will ever be released into circulation.
So now really is the perfect time for both experienced numismatists and newcomers to dive into coin collecting and hunt down every Queen Elizabeth II coin in your change – starting with the £1 coins that have just been released into circulation!
Are you ready to take on the challenge to find the Queen Elizabeth II £1 coins in your change? With seven circulating Queen Elizabeth II £1 coins to be found, the hunt is on to find them all – including the rare 2022 £1 coin!
But, with the release of these final coins, the clock is ticking to complete your Queen Elizabeth II collection before it’s too late…
Queen Elizabeth II Coinage
For seven decades, Queen Elizabeth II was a staple of UK coins – featuring on the obverse of our circulating coinage, from the 1p to the £2.
Her sad passing in 2022 led to a redesign of our coins and the introduction of the Bee £1 to replace the familiar Nations of the Crown design, as seen below.
Whilst her effigy was still used on coins up until December 2022, any coins entering circulation that year were thought to be the very last Queen Elizabeth II coins we could find in our change.
However, The Royal Mint’s announcement on 20th August 2025 reveals that more coins featuring Her Majesty are set to enter circulation this year.
In an unusual turn of events, more coins dated 2021 and 2022 will shortly be finding their way into our change – giving collectors another opportunity to get their hands on the Queen’s last coins!
In fact, it’s even been announced that the 2022 Nations of the Crown £1 will be by far the rarest 12-sided £1 coin – with just 7.735 million entering circulation. Compare that to the 749.6 million Nations of the Crown £1 coins released in 2017 and you’ll appreciate just how rare this coin really is.
How does this affect £1 coin mintages?
With this announcement, we can update our Queen Elizabeth II 12-sided £1 coin mintage figure chart, which helps you see where these coins rank in terms of rarity.
Whilst the 2022 Nations of the Crown £1 tops the chart and is the rarest Queen Elizabeth II £1 you can find in your change, with over 7 million of these coins in circulation, collectors still stand a very good chance of finding one.
So the race is now on to track down the Queen Elizabeth II £1 coins in our change! Will you find all seven – including the rare 2022 £1 coin?
Let us know if you’ve managed to find any already in the comments below!
The Last Definitive Coins of Queen Elizabeth II
If you haven’t been lucky enough to find a 2022 Nations of the Crown £1 in your change, you can secure it in the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Last Definitive Coin Set, including all 8 definitive coins issued in 2022 – Her Majesty’s final year.
Secure the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Last Definitive Coin Set for your collection >>
New Royal Mint £1 to become Britain’s rarest circulating coin?
** UPDATE 22/09/25 **
It’s now been announced that a further 8.84 million 2025 Bee £1 coins are being released into circulation, meaning it’ll actually have a circulating mintage of 9,010,000. This still means that the 2025 Bee £1 is the second rarest 12-sided £1 coin currently in circulation, behind the 2022 Nations of the Crown £1 with a mintage of 7,735,000.
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Breaking news Change Checkers, the 2025 Bee £1 is set to bee-come the UK’s rarest pound coin currently in circulation! In fact, as of this moment, the 2025 Bee £1 is even rarer than both the 2023 Salmon and Kew Gardens 50ps!
The UK’s NEW Rarest Coin? The 2025 Dated Bee £1
Today’s reveal is a big one for coin collectors as a staggeringly low number of 2025 Bee £1 coins will enter circulation, making it the new rarest UK pound coin currently in our change. Last year, the 2023 Salmon 50p unseated the iconic Kew Gardens 50p as the rarest UK coin in circulation, and now, the 2025 Bee £1 is poised to take over that top spot!
It’s been revealed that just 170,000 2025 Bee £1 coins are currently set to enter circulation, a whopping 30,000 less than the 2023 Salmon 50p which had a mintage of just 200,000!
The anticipation and excitement that greeted the 2023 Salmon 50p news is likely to be mirrored (or even exceeded) by the response when collectors start spotting 2025 Bee £1 coins in the wild.
Will you Bee joining the hunt to track one down in your change? We don’t yet know if more 2025 Bee £1s will be released later in the year, so collectors will need to act fast to find one!
So just how rare is this new £1 coin?
Each time the UK mintage figures are announced, we update our mintage figure charts to help you easily see which coins are the rarest. Following today’s news, we’ve updated our 12-sided £1 Mintage Figure chart, which now shows the 2025 Bee £1 right at the top.
In 2017 when the round pound designs were withdrawn from circulation, we set our Round Pound Mintage Figure list in stone, with the 2011 Scotland: Edinburgh City £1 at the top with a mintage of just 935,000! Even with the Edinburgh City £1’s tiny mintage, unless more enter circulation, the 2025 Bee £1 will be 5.5 times rarer!
More circulating £1 Coins also announced!
As well as the exciting news of the ultra-rare 2025 Bee £1, it was also announced that more 2021 and 2022 dated Nations of the Crown £1 coins will be appearing in our change. And, most unusually, these coins will feature Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse!
23.29 million Queen Elizabeth II Nations of the Crown £1 coins will be released – and these will be the LAST circulating £1 coins to feature Her Majesty, marking the end of an era.
If you haven’t been lucky enough to track down one of these coins yet, you now have another chance to get your hands on Queen Elizabeth II’s last circulating £1 coins.
And, with just 7.735 million of the 2022 dated Nations of the Crown £1s in circulation, this becomes the rarest 12-sided £1 coin to feature the Queen’s portrait!
We can also expect to see 7.395 million more 2023 dated King Charles III Bee £1 coins entering circulation soon – so keep your eyes peeled for those if you’re yet to find a 2023 Bee in your change!
Beat the Buzz
Can’t wait and want to get your hands on a 2025 Bee £1 right now? You can secure the 2025 UK Brilliant Uncirculated Coinage Set which includes the 2025 Bee £1, along with the other 7 new King Charles III definitive coins from the 1p to the £2.
Own the 2025 UK Brilliant Uncirculated Coinage Set, including the 2025 Bee £1 for just £39.50 >>