The Royal Mint has produced its first ever £50 coin, Britannia 2015 UK £50 Fine Silver Coin. The new addition to United Kingdom’s face-value coin series features two of the most famous symbols of Britain – Britannia and Her Majesty The Queen. Unusually, the designs on both sides of the coin are by the same artist, Royal Mint engraver, Jody Clark.
This legal tender £50 coin has been minted in fine silver to Brilliant Uncirculated standard. It is not common in recent times for a coin to feature obverse and reverse designs by the same artist, but Jody Clark’s contemporary interpretation of Britannia with the British lion, and his portrait of The Queen, complement one another perfectly.
Britannia is a popular representation of Britain, reimagined through the centuries, always reflecting the United Kingdom at a moment in time. She personifies our nation, our history and the values we uphold. Today’s Britannia, depicted by Jody Clark, is strong and elegant, standing before the world with the British lion at her side. Her Majesty The Queen is respected and admired all around the world, her portrait on our coins a reassuring presence for more than six decades. These two unmistakable figures were the perfect choice for this the very first face-value £50 coin to be issued by The Royal Mint, especially in 2015, the year Britannia returns to the circulating coinage.
This £50 coin, the very first of its kind, joins a series of face- value coins released in recent years. In 2013, the UK’s first face-value £20 coin was issued, bearing Benedetto Pistrucci's famous St George and the dragon design. A face-value £100 coin was first struck in 2015, featuring the national landmark, Big Ben. Each coin, minted in fine silver, is available at face value, and the range continues to grow.
Britannia has appeared on British coins since Roman times, a familiar presence, ‘queen of the seas’ and guardian of these shores. She has been a constant on our coins since the seventeenth century, and in 1987, the flagship Britannia coin was launched. The Britannia coin is now struck annually, with Proof editions bearing a new interpretation of this legend each year – she is the changing face of Britain. In 2015, Britannia made a welcome return to the circulating coinage, appearing on the £2 coin, which will become the definitive United Kingdom edition.
You can buy Britannia 2015 UK £50 Fine Silver Coin on the Royal Mint's website and only 100,000 of the coins will be minted.
Source: Royal Mint UK
