Aussie King Charles coins face delays in circulation - here’s why
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When it comes to bestowing a lasting tribute on those who have made a significant contribution to their country, placing their image on the currency is one of the highest honours. For Australia, this is a tradition that is often observed during the coronation of a new King or Queen.
We’ve had the late Queen's visage on our coins since 1953, however, with the recent coronation of King Charles, a new set of coins have had to be produced to commemorate the life and legacy of the new monarch.
Unfortunately, the production of the new coins has been delayed, which has caused a bit of a stir in the nation's currency.
It had long been suspected that the Royal Australian Mint would soon begin producing new coins featuring the face of King Charles III.
After the death of the Queen and the ascension of the King to the British throne last year, there were questions about when exactly the coins would come into circulation.
Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh has now announced the schedule. He has stated that the new coins will make their first appearance in the second half of 2023, which means that they probably won't be out until mid to late December.
New coins featuring the King’s effigy were initially expected for release early this year.
So… what’s the deal? Well, it appears at this point the ball (the coin?) is in the King’s court.
‘There's a more complicated process than you might imagine in terms of designing an effigy, having it cleared with Buckingham Palace, and then testing that the dies work,’ Leigh said.
’So the Australian government will approve it, then we'll send it to Buckingham Palace.’
‘Put simply, the King needs to approve his own face being on Australian coins.’
It can be inferred that things are running a little behind schedule on that front, which means Aussies will have to wait a bit longer for their shiny new coins with the new King’s likeness.
According to the Royal Australian Mint’s website, the King’s approval of the design is only the first of six stages in the rollout of a new coin bearing the currently ruling sovereign.
Once approval is given for a coin’s design, the Royal Mint develops a 3D (3-dimensional) model of the coin with additional fine-tuning done on the designs performed so they can be reproduced at a high level of quality.
‘One of the challenges in producing these coins is that the dies need to be able to last for some 200,000 to 300,000 coins,’ Leigh shared.
‘The image needs not only to be an appropriate likeness but also one that can be printed again and again.’
The prototype coin design is then put to the test through the production of mock coins before the final denomination of currencies is determined.
From there, assuming all goes well, mass production of the coins commences and new coins are released through major banks.
The King will be facing left in the upcoming iteration of Aussie coins, in keeping with the tradition of monarchs facing the direction opposite of their predecessors.
Since 1966, more than 15 billion coins with the image of the late Queen have been made.
The most recent likeness of the late Queen in Australian coins was revealed by the Royal Australian Mint in December of 2022 and was released earlier this month.
What are your thoughts, members? Does it mean a lot to you to have currency that features an image of the current King?
Tell us your thoughts below!
Source: YouTube/7News Australia
We’ve had the late Queen's visage on our coins since 1953, however, with the recent coronation of King Charles, a new set of coins have had to be produced to commemorate the life and legacy of the new monarch.
Unfortunately, the production of the new coins has been delayed, which has caused a bit of a stir in the nation's currency.
It had long been suspected that the Royal Australian Mint would soon begin producing new coins featuring the face of King Charles III.
After the death of the Queen and the ascension of the King to the British throne last year, there were questions about when exactly the coins would come into circulation.
The first Australian coin series to feature the late Queen Elizabeth II was produced between 1953 and 1964. Image Credit: CommCoinage
Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh has now announced the schedule. He has stated that the new coins will make their first appearance in the second half of 2023, which means that they probably won't be out until mid to late December.
New coins featuring the King’s effigy were initially expected for release early this year.
Australian coins featuring the likeness of King Charles III are expected to enter circulation within 2023. Screengrab Credit: YouTube/The Royal Family Channel
So… what’s the deal? Well, it appears at this point the ball (the coin?) is in the King’s court.
‘There's a more complicated process than you might imagine in terms of designing an effigy, having it cleared with Buckingham Palace, and then testing that the dies work,’ Leigh said.
’So the Australian government will approve it, then we'll send it to Buckingham Palace.’
‘Put simply, the King needs to approve his own face being on Australian coins.’
It can be inferred that things are running a little behind schedule on that front, which means Aussies will have to wait a bit longer for their shiny new coins with the new King’s likeness.
According to the Royal Australian Mint’s website, the King’s approval of the design is only the first of six stages in the rollout of a new coin bearing the currently ruling sovereign.
Once approval is given for a coin’s design, the Royal Mint develops a 3D (3-dimensional) model of the coin with additional fine-tuning done on the designs performed so they can be reproduced at a high level of quality.
‘One of the challenges in producing these coins is that the dies need to be able to last for some 200,000 to 300,000 coins,’ Leigh shared.
‘The image needs not only to be an appropriate likeness but also one that can be printed again and again.’
The UK has already released coins bearing the King’s portrait. Image Credit: UK Royal Mint
The prototype coin design is then put to the test through the production of mock coins before the final denomination of currencies is determined.
From there, assuming all goes well, mass production of the coins commences and new coins are released through major banks.
The King will be facing left in the upcoming iteration of Aussie coins, in keeping with the tradition of monarchs facing the direction opposite of their predecessors.
Since 1966, more than 15 billion coins with the image of the late Queen have been made.
The most recent likeness of the late Queen in Australian coins was revealed by the Royal Australian Mint in December of 2022 and was released earlier this month.
Tell us your thoughts below!
Source: YouTube/7News Australia
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