The UK will witness change with the death of Queen Elizabeth and the accession of her son Charles III to the throne, perhaps the most notable of which is the stamping of a new face on the country’s stamps and coins.
During the 70-year reign of Elizabeth, five different images of her were used on coins.
Mary Gillick made the first depiction of the Queen on a coin at the beginning of her reign in 1953, and the last was by Jody Clark and presented in 2015, according to British newspaper The Independent.
According to the newspaper, the Queen’s portrait also appears on banknotes. This change began in 1960 when the monarch first appeared on £1 banknotes.
After the death of Elizabeth II, the authorities will begin to phase out coins with the image of the late Queen, while new coins with the image of King Charles III will be issued.
It is not known when the new coins will be issued, but Charles is expected to sit down for a new image to be used on all new coins, banknotes and stamps after his accession to the throne.
The Royal Mint, which is responsible for the production and issuance of coins in the United Kingdom, will make recommendations to the chancellor and obtain royal assent.
After that, the final versions are approved by the chancellor and the king, according to the British newspaper The Mirror.
In Britain, it has become customary for the king to face the opposite direction from his predecessor, so the image of Queen Elizabeth will be directed to the right, and Charles should be photographed looking to the left, according to Reuters.
Postage stamps will also be updated with the image of the new king, according to Reuters.
The process of replacing the late queen’s banknotes will be a long one, and it will likely take at least two years to exchange £4.5bn for currency bearing the new king’s image, British newspaper The Guardian reports.
It is likely that coins featuring the Queen will continue to be issued in the near future, and all coins bearing her image will remain usable as banks gradually collect older designs, reports the Independent.
