Official Royal Wedding coin unveils

The Official Royal Wedding coin unveils by The Royal Mint UK. The production of the official UK coin being struck to commemorate the wedding of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton. The only Official Royal Wedding UK coin has gone into production 0n 17 March 2011 at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales. Approved by the Royal Household and the Government, the coin features relaxed, modern portraits of the couple, an approach also evident in the informal use of their names and the date of the wedding circulating their portraits. The obverse bears a portrait of Prince William’s grandmother, The Queen.

The coin has been designed by Mark Richards, Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors, following an invitation- only tender process involving a handful of British sculptors. His submission was selected by the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, a panel made up of experts in art, design, history and heraldry, chaired at the time of the decision by Sir Christopher Frayling, former Rector of the Royal College of Art.

Commenting on his success Mark Richards said: “It’s a tremendous honour and privilege to have been chosen to design the Royal Wedding coin. As a sculptor I’m used to working in 3D, so my specific challenges were not only capturing the nuances of Catherine Middleton and Prince William’s features, but also faithfully rendering their expressions in such a small space. I was inspired by what I think is best summed up as the spirit of ‘friendship in love’. It was important to me to capture the relaxed intimacy of a modern couple, without compromising the historical significance of the wedding itself.”

Former Buckingham Palace spokesperson Dickie Arbiter said: “To capture a true image of one person on a coin is a feat in itself but to capture two people with such a depth of feeling as Mark Richards has of Prince William and Catherine Middleton is truly remarkable.”

Because of the coin’s official status, the Royal Mint has already received thousands of pre-orders with global demand expected to exceed more than 250,000. The official UK Royal Wedding Coin is only the second UK coin ever struck by the Royal Mint to celebrate this hugely important event, the first being that of Prince William’s parents The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.


Kevin Clancy, Director of the Royal Mint Museum said: “The Royal Mint has produced coins for the British monarchy for over 1,000 years, and while this latest coin features the country’s future King and Queen, it is actually a coin for the people who want to commemorate the Royal Wedding with their own piece of history.”

The official UK coin to commemorate Prince William and Catherine Middleton’s wedding is available now to pre order from the Royal Mint’s website www.royalmint.com priced at £.9.99. The coin will become official UK tender with a denomination of £5 on 16th March. It will sell at £9.99 because it is a commemorative not circulating coin. They are designed to last forever as special mementos of historic British occasions. Its retail value is determined not according to its denomination, but by the quality of its finish, which is finer and of a higher standard than a circulating coin, retaining all of its original mint lustre. The commemorative coin comes in a specially designed and informative presentation pack. Precious metal versions of the £5 coin are available in silver, gold and platinum ranging from £55.50 to £5,450.00 complete with certificates of authenticity.

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UK 2011 WWF 50 pence

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is celebrating its 50th anniversary on 1st May this year with a conference in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Royal Mint mark this celebration with a specially designed commemorative 50p coin struck in 22 carat gold. The commemorative reverse design, by Matthew Dent, features the famous WWF panda logo surrounded by symbols representing the vital conservation work of WWF. Housed in a beautiful walnut-veneer case complete with an individually numbered Certificate of Authenticity it would make an ideal gift for wildlife enthusiasts and coin collectors alike.

WWF, originally known as the World Wildlife Fund, was founded 50 years ago by a group of wildlife experts including Sir Julian Huxley, the renowned biologist and Sir Peter Scott, the distinguished naturalist and painter. Today, WWF works throughout the world to tackle environmental issues that affect us all. The very real threat of climate change, for example, is a top priority. WWF also engages with governments, businesses, adults and children to identify ways to live more sustainably. This means striking the right balance between using and protecting the environment, and developing our world in ways that meet the needs of people today without compromising those of future generations. Safeguarding the natural world remains a priority in 2011, just as it was in 1961.


Half a century later, in 2011, WWF’s work remains as relevant as it was during those early days. It is best known for its wildlife conservation work – but of equal importance are its efforts to tackle other vital modern-day issues such as climate change and sustainable consumption of our natural resources.

You can order your UK 2011 WWF 50 pence today at Royal Mint website. This coin will be a limited Edition Presentation of just 1,500. A donation will be made to WWF for each coin sold.

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Bank of Canada Announces Polymer Notes

The Bank of Canada today announced that it will begin circulating a new $100 polymer bank note in November 2011, with a polymer $50 note to follow in March 2012. The Bank also provided further technical and background information about the new bank notes. More details on the security features, themes and designs of these denominations will be unveiled in the spring of 2011. The remaining denominations – the $20 note, followed by the $10 and $5 notes – will be unveiled and issued by the end of 2013.


With the introduction of the polymer bank note series, the Bank's main focus continues to be security. "Canada's new bank notes will have innovative security features that are easy to verify," said Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada. "The leading-edge technology in these notes will expand the frontiers of bank note security."

In addition to enhancing security, the new bank note series will be easier to verify, more economical and have a reduced environmental impact. The Bank of Canada evaluated a number of options before deciding on a new suite of security features and on the use of polymer material – which is expected to last at least 2.5 times longer than the current cotton-paper bills.

To prepare for the new notes, the Bank is working closely with financial institutions and manufacturers of bank note equipment to ensure a smooth transition to polymer. Law-enforcement agencies and retailers will also be important partners as the Bank introduces the polymer series. "With these new notes, the Bank of Canada will provide Canadians with a durable, high-quality, secure form of payment that they can use with confidence," added Governor Carney.

Source: Bank of Canada

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Fiji new notes no Queen Elizabeth

Early this month, Fiji Prime Minister announced that Fiji new notes will have no Queen Elizabeth image. The new banknote will have local plants and animals images in its design. Fiji Military commander Voreqe Bainimarama, who holds the titles of prime minister and finance minister among a clutch of other portfolios, gave no reason for the change. Fiji’s cabinet had accepted his recommendations for new designs on the country’s 10 coin and note denominations.

Fiji, a former British colony which gained independence in 1970, continued to feature the Queen on its currency, but several coups since then have left other Commonwealth nations questioning whether its instability qualified it to remain a member. The final decision to suspend Fiji from the Commonwealth came in 2009 after the government of military ruler Voreqe Bainimarama broke a promise to restore democracy following a bloodless coup in 2006. Bainimarama is angry following the UK's decision to support its removal from the Commonwealth

The new designs on the nation's ten coin and note denominations will be introduced June next year. Everyone is waiting which animals and plants that will be replacing the Queen image. Fiji native animal are very limited. Among them are fruit bats, crested Iguana, green kadavu parrots, endangered peregrine falcons, Fiji petrel, the silktail and the long-legged warbler birds.

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US dollar notes change to coins

US Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reported that replacing the $1 note with a $1 coin could save the US government approximately $5.5 billion over 30 years. Many nations already replaced their lower-denomination notes with coins to obtain a financial benefit. Coins are more durable than notes and do not need replacement as often as notes.

To perform its work, GAO constructed an economic model and interviewed officials from the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, the U.S. Secret Service, outside experts, and officials from Canada and the United Kingdom. To determine the effects on stakeholders, GAO interviewed officials from industries and organizations that might be affected by changes to currency.

GAO has noted in past reports that efforts to increase the circulation and public acceptance of the $1 coin have not succeeded, in part, because the $1 note has remained in circulation. Other countries that have replaced a low-denomination note with a coin, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, stopped producing the note. As in the past, GAO's analysis indicates that replacing the $1 note with a $1 coin would provide a financial benefit to the government if production of the $1 note ceased.

Do this report includes normal people who will be using the dollar coins? I am a kind of person who don't like to bring coins when I go out. I will left my coins at home or car whenever I received to many coins. Coins will also be more vulnerable to counterfeiter then notes. This kind of report should involve people who will be using it, not just looking at it from the economic aspects.

Source: US GAO

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£5 Royal Wedding Platinum Piedfort Coin

Royal Mint UK had released the second engagement coin design to mark the engagement of HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton. The design is much more beautiful then the 1st design of the royal wedding. I am more interested in the £5 Royal Wedding Platinum Piedfort Coin since its not easy to find a platinum coins and they're more expensive then gold. Extremely rare and tarnish resistant, this precious silver-white metal makes a fitting tribute to Prince William and his bride. Only 200 Platinum coins will be made available by Royal Mint.

This is only an artist's illustration.

It is our great honour to present the official Royal Wedding coin design, now fully approved by the Royal Household and the Government. This is the official UK coin, produced by the Royal Mint, to celebrate this historic event. It will be presented at a meeting of the Privy Council on 16th March, at which point it will pass into law to become official UK tender . You can reserve your official Royal Wedding £5 coin today at Royal Mint website. Every product will have an issue limit. All orders are guaranteed delivery before the wedding, and shipping dates will be confirmed upon approval of the coin design.

Specification:

Denom.: £5
Alloy: Platinum
Weight: 94.20 g
Diameter: 38.61mm
Designer (Reverse): Mark Richards FRBS
Designer (Obverse): Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS
Edge Inscription: Not Applicable

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India Rupee new symbol coin soon

The Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee presented the national budget on Monday with a news of a new series of coins carrying the new Rupee symbol already planned and will be issued soon. India unveiled a symbol for its rupee currency on July last year with hopes that it will become as globally recognised as signs for the dollar, the yen, the pound and the euro. The symbol design is a perfect blend of Indian and Roman letters: a capital 'R' and Devanagari 'ra' which represents rupiya, to appeal to international audiences and Indian audiences.

"Indian Rupee now has a new symbol, which has been notified for use by the Central and State Governments, business entities and the general public. A new series of coins carrying this symbol will be issued shortly," Mukherjee said in his Budget speech.

He said the government has approached Unicode Standards Authority for inclusion of the symbol in international standards. Unicode is an international standard that allows text data to be interchanged globally without conflict.

Source: Times of India.

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