World Coin series: Coins from United Kingdom - Part 2

Queen's Beasts series - Lion of England 2017 coin

During Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953, 10 heraldic beasts stood guard outside the Westminster Abbey. They were 6 foot tall plaster sculptures called the Queen's beasts. Each had a shield that depicted the royal coat of arms of the house they represented. These Heraldic beasts represented the different houses and ancestory inherited by themonarch of the United Kingdom.

The lion is probably the earliest animals used as an emblem in the English history. The Royal coat of arms of England also included lions in one form or the other. In the Queen's coronation, the Lion of England stood in the place of pride, near the entrance of the Abbey. This year with the Queen's Sapphire Jubilee, the first of the Queen's Beasts series, Lion of England 2017 coin has been released. This is the first of 10 coins each depicting the Queen's beasts. Designed by the Royal Mint coin designer, Jody Clark, the coin's reverse shows a Rampant lion roaring with the crown of England on its head and the Royal shield with the coat of arms featuring lions again. The Lion of England comes in both Silver Proof and Gold Proof versions.

Lunar Year of the Rooster

The Lunar Year of the Rooster coin this year is the 4th in the series in the Sh?ngxio Collection by artist Wuon-Gean Ho. The design shows the Rooster in the crowing pose with 10 Marsh daisies to its side. In Chinese culture, number 10 is believed to symbolise perfection.

The Sovereign 2017

Benedetto Pistrucci, the Chief-Medallist of the Royal Mint in 1817, with an Italian ancestory and a French engraving experience, wouldn't have expected that his design for the Gold sovereign would endure for 200 years. It is one of the most respected bullion coin ever that set the standard for other coins across the world. In the span of 200 years, the sovereign has been struck wherever the British Empire had its colonies.

The design depicts St. George, the Dragon slayer. St. George was George of Cappadocia, the 3rd century military commander during theCrusades who turned Christian martyr. He rose to an iconic status by the 13th century with the red cross of a crusader as part of his identity and represented the victory of good over evil in medieval Europe. Pistrucci represents him as an able bodied naked Greek man with a lance in hand .He is shown seated on a beautiful horse almost trampling a dragon beneath him.

Upcoming releases

First World War2 coin

This year the Royal Mint iscontinuing the First World War 5-coin series with the 4th coin honoring the aviators in the war. As a major breakthrough innovation in the turn of the century, the aviation industryplayed a major role in the first of the wars that touched every life on the planet. The coin shows one of the earliest flying machines from the top view. The coin honors the Royal Flying Corps of the United Kingdom who became the Royal Air Force after the war. The coin is set to release in April 2017.

Jane Austen 2 coin

To mark the 200th death anniversary of Jane Austen, the author of Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and more such gems in the literary world, a2 coin will be released in July this year by the Royal Mint. The coin's design shows a silhouette of the author with her signature. along the rim will be shown "JANE AUSTEN", "1817-2017" and "TWO POUNDS".

House of Windsor5 coin

To mark the 100th anniversary of the creation of the 'House of Windsor', the Royal house under which the present and the previous three monarchs of the United Kingdom reign, the House of Windsor coin will be released in the month of July this year.

The descendants of Queen Victoria and Albert,Prince Consort were from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (paternal side), a branch of the Royal German House of Hanover and Wettin. With strong anti-German feelings during the First World War, King George V decided to anglicise the name and proclaimed that his Royal house would henceforth be called the 'House of Windsor'. The coin's reverse design shows the House of Windsor with a crown on top created byJohn Bergdahl.

Sir Isaac Newton50p coin

Sir Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, astronomer, and physicist and arguably one of world's widely recognised scientist of all times will behonored with the 50p coin this year in September.

During the last 30 years of his life, he was given the honorary post of Warden and later Master of the Royal Mint by the Crown. But Newton took it very seriously and resigned his position in Cambridge to take over the post in the Royal Mint. He approached the counterfeiting issues with his meticulous and scientific bent of mind and managed to bring some modicum of control on such coins.

This coin design shows the Solar System with the Sun at the centre and the planets in orbits around it, a theory which Newton helped confirm.

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References

1.http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/the-coins-of-2017

2. http://www.royalmint.com/discover/sovereigns/st-george-the-dragon-slayer

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedetto_Pistrucci