The queen is dead. And along with Elizabeth II, a historical figure whose legacy was printed on coins and banknotes with his image, but what will happen now with these 29,000 million coins that approximately circulate in the United Kingdom.
The most recent design dates from 2015, when he was 88 years old. It was the fifth coin portrait created during his reign by the Royal Mint (the government mint that produces coins for the government).
What will happen to the coins and bills where the queen appears?
“Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, there is already a protocol that not only has to do with funerals, and protocols to follow. Within the London Bridge operation, it is stipulated that the bills of Elizabeth II will begin to be gradually and progressively withdrawn, and they will begin to be replaced after the appointment of the new monarch Carlos III, in a gradual manner, explains Claudia Serrano Solares, Postdoctoral student of the Academic Unit of Regional Studies of the Coordination of Humanities of the UNAM.
Although the Royal Mint has not yet shown what the new coins with the face of Carlos III will look like, one of these issued in 2018 to commemorate his 70th birthday gave a clue.
One thing that seems certain is that he will be shown looking the other way, to the left. Tradition dictates that the direction the monarch faces on coins should be alternated for each new monarch.
The queen has appeared on all Bank of England notes since 1960 (notes issued by Scottish and Northern Irish banks do not depict the monarch who died on September 8).
The protocols state that once approved by the government, the new designs will be manufactured at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales.
that all coins circulating in the United Kingdom bearing portraits of Queen Elizabeth II remain legal tender and are in circulation.
In addition to respecting this period of mourning, “we continue to mint coins as usual,” he explained.
