There are 29 billion British coins in circulation depicting Queen Elizabeth’s face. Since her first appearance on a coin, a year after her accession to the throne in 1952, the Royal Mint has used five different portraits of her. And with all of them she’s looking to her right.
Now it’s Charles III’s turn to ride the coin, but he’s probably facing the opposite direction.
Since the reign of Charles II in the 17th century, monarchs have typically faced positions opposite their predecessors to coinage. royal family websiteSince Queen Elizabeth was facing right, the new king will probably be depicted facing left.
There is one exception. Edward VIII, who was king for less than a year in 1936, turned to his left, even though his previous monarch, George V, also turned to his left. The tradition resumed with George VI facing left. He served until his death in 1952.
“It may have practical applications in that the differences from previous reigns are apparent,” said Nigel Fletcher, a teaching fellow at King’s College London. Fletcher said the molds and castings to make the currency will be manufactured after the new image of Prince Charles is created.
Invoices are another matter. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth became the first monarch to appear on a banknote. That is, there are no conventions regarding the monarch’s orientation of banknotes. Over 4.7 billion Bank of England notes are in circulation.
With the country in mourning, it’s not clear when the change will take place.
Ethan Ilzecki, an associate professor at the London School of Economics, said the process of introducing a new currency “won’t happen overnight”.
Andrew Baileythe governor of bank of england, In a statement Thursday, it said no announcement would be made until the mourning period is over.
“More information will follow,” the Royal Mint, which is in charge of UK coin production, said in a statement, without giving a timeline. The Royal Mint said it would “respect this period of respectful mourning and continue to strike coins as usual.”
The looming UK currency turnover coincides with paper banknotes being replaced by polymers, a cleaner material that offers greater protection against fraud. Polymerization started in 2016, After September 30thPeople will no longer be able to pay with £20 and £50 notes, but will be able to exchange them at some banks and the Bank of England.