A new 5 pound coin to commemorate the 95th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II in April will be among a set of new commemorative coinage to be issued in 2021, the UK's Royal Mint said on Monday. The release of a 5 pound coin is reserved for significant royal events and the latest one will depict the royal cypher "EIIR", above the words "My Heart and My Devotion", an ode to part of the monarch's 1957 Christmas Day broadcast which became the very first to be televised.
The commemorative coins we make provide a special opportunity to celebrate the people and events that have made a hugely important contribution to the UK and beyond, the Royal Mint said. For 2021, a collection of coins celebrates and explores the stories behind Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott, who made history come to life, John Logie Baird and the making of television, and HG Wells, the man who made science fiction reality. Interwoven with the Royal Mint's history, we also celebrate how we were the change makers in 1971 as we mark the 50th anniversary of decimal day, and wish Her Majesty The Queen a happy 95th birthday as she continues to make a nation proud, it said.
On April 21 this year, the Queen will become the first British monarch to reach the age of 95. As her image already appears on one side of all coins in circulation in Britain, the new set of commemorative coinage will each offer a different depiction from the various stages of her reign. The quote for the 5 pound coin is taken from her speech 64 years ago, when she said: "In the old days the monarch led his soldiers on the battlefield and his leadership at all times was close and personal.
"Today things are very different. I cannot lead you into battle, I do not give you laws or administer justice, but I can do something else, I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations." The new coins will be available in precious metal editions or struck in regular circulating alloys, available to purchase from the Royal Mint's website. The anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott, who wrote novels such as Waverley' and Ivanhoe', will be celebrated with a 2 pound coin. The 75th anniversary of the death of science fiction author H.G. Wells, who penned works such as The Time Machine' and The War Of The Worlds', will also be marked on a 2 pound coin, with a depiction of images from his novels.
Two sets of 50-pence coins will mark the 50th anniversary of decimalisation, when Britain's modern coins came into force, and the 75th anniversary of the death of the inventor John Logie Baird, famous for his early prototypes of the television. "This year's annual set is particularly special for The Royal Mint as we celebrate one of the biggest milestones in our 1,100-year history, the anniversary of decimalisation, said Clare Maclennan, of the consumer division at the Royal Mint.
"This was one of the largest and most intensive public awareness campaigns ever staged by the government and introduced the coins that we know today. Decimalisation was the birth of modern coin collecting and it is fitting that the anniversary has been celebrated on a 50 pence, which is Britain's most loved coin," she said. The Royal Mint said that each of the new sets of coinage capture and tell a story in miniature form on the tiny surface of a coin by skilled artists passionate about their craft.
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