Biggest day of King Charles’ life honoured with historic release in ‘special moment for the nation’

The biggest day of King Charles’ life has been honoured with a historic release in what has been described as a “special moment for the nation”. 

• Arguably the biggest day of His Majesty’s life was his coronation day in May and it’s being commemorated in a new 50p coin.
• This features a nod to an iconic location and it’s predicted by the Royal Mint that these will be “highly sought after”.
• This royal news comes as Prince William and the Princess of Wales are set to deliver a public message without King Charles after summer break. 

Given he became first in the royal line of succession at just 4 years old, it’s no surprise that King Charles’ life has seen him experience plenty of huge moments and high-profile occasions. Though perhaps the biggest day of King Charles’ life that was always destined to come was his coronation day. Taking place in May, His Majesty was officially crowned at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony attended by his family, European royals, and world leaders. 

It was also watched by an estimated 20 million in the UK and now this unique occasion is being honoured with a historic release that fans can enjoy too. The Royal Mint has announced that from 10th August a very special 50p coin will begin to appear in circulation.

This will mark His Majesty’s coronation and 5 million of them will be received by banks and post offices across the UK. The design of the new coin was produced by the Royal Mint Coin Designer Natasha Jenkins and features a significant nod to the big day. The “heads” side of the coin features King Charles’ official portrait designed by sculptor Martin Jennings that was first revealed last September and received the monarch’s all-important personal approval. 

Switching things up from the commemorative coronation coins already unveiled this year, this portrait will also see King Charles uncrowned. On the “tails” side of the coin will be Westminster Abbey in a sweet tribute to the iconic location where the coronation service took place.

In the centre is King Charles’ royal cypher - CR, for Charles Rex - which apparently represents him being crowned Sovereign at the Abbey.

“This is a special moment for the nation, as members of the public will have the opportunity to find a piece of history in their change,” declared The Royal Mint’s Director of Commemorative Coin, Rebecca Morgan. “We anticipate the coronation 50p coins will be highly sought after among coin collectors and members of the public keen to own a piece of British history.”

She reflected that the Royal Mint has struck coins for every British monarch ever since Alfred the Great - the 9th century monarch who was the grandfather of the real-life character Aethelstan in The Last Kingdom. 

“[W]e are proud to continue that long history with the introduction of His Majesty’s official coinage,” Rebecca continued.

This 50p honouring the biggest day of King Charles’ life comes ten months after the first 50p bearing King Charles’ coin portrait was released. Currently coins bearing the portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth are still in circulation and will only be removed if they become damaged.