New year, new coins - we take a look at the new Royal Mint coins of 2021.
2021 50th Anniversary of Decimalisation 50p Brilliant Uncirculated Coin
15th February 1971 was Decimal Day. It was dubbed as a huge turning point for UK coinage, as we waved goodbye to Pounds, Shillings and Pence.
Now, fifty years on, the biggest change to UK currency in over a thousand years is commemorated on a brand new UK 50p coin.
The bespoke, nostalgic reverse design by Dominique Evans is inspired by the currency that was replaced in 1971, and perfectly conveys the transition from pre-decimal to decimal coins. The obverse features the 1971 effigy of the Queen.
2021 Sir Walter Scott £2 Brilliant Uncirculated Coin
Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott. With a keen interest in history, and in particular that of his Scottish homeland, many credit Sir Walter Scott with the creation of the modern historical novel as we know it.
Born in 1771, in Edinburgh, Scotland, the novelist, poet and lawyer brought the history and spirit of Scotland to life in titles such as Waverley, Rob Roy and The Lady of the Lake.
Scott enjoyed a great deal of recognition in his lifetime and at the peak of his fame he was the best-known and most widely read novelist writing in English, with Royal fans including George IV, and later Queen Victoria. So great was the respect for Scott's knowledge of history that he was even called in to help recover the lost Crown Jewels at Edinburgh Castle, earning him his title and baronetcy in 1820.
2021 John Logie Baird 50p Brilliant Uncirculated Coin
Celebrating the life and work of John Logie Baird, a Scottish engineer and inventor most famous for being the first person to demonstrate a working television. From an early age he showed ingenuity, setting up a telephone exchange to connect his bedroom to his friend's houses. He was a prolific inventor in his adult life too and he was 34 when his quest to develop television really began.
At the time, many inventors were already working in the field, however it was Baird's pioneering breakthroughs that truly gave birth to functional television in 1925. At first he had to pay the BBC to transmit his experimental images in London, but by 1927 the world's first television sets went on sale in Selfridges. Five years later, the BBC began using his system for the first public television service.
2021 H. G. Wells £2 Brilliant Uncirculated Coin
Celebrating the life and work of HG Wells, Herbert George Wells was a shopkeeper's son from Bromley who created a literary genre, influenced generations and so much more.
His works include textbooks, short stories and scientific romances. Writing in a progress-hungry time following the Industrial Revolution, Wells explored scientific advancements with cautionary tales that inspired as much fear as they did amazement.
Wells' fascination with scientific progress and his observations on society were revolutionary, inventive and way ahead of his time. He was as interested in future technologies as he was in utopian living, and his most influential work, The Rights of Man, would become the basis that the United Nations was formed upon.
With many literary greats to his name, such as The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, and The Time Machine, it's no wonder that H.G. Wells became known as 'the father of science fiction'.
2021 95th Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen £5 Brilliant Uncirculated Coin
This year marks the 95th Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. When Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on 21 April 1926, she was not expected to become queen. However, following her uncle Edward VIII's abdication and the early loss of her father George VI, Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II at the age of just 25.
From a young princess to the experienced monarch and head of the Royal Family that we see today. Her Majesty has earned a place in the hearts of people throughout the UK and the Commonwealth. She has led us through wartime, economic crisis, and even the recent pandemic. Her messages convey a pride in her people, and no Christmas would be complete without her televised speech.
Every jubilee and birthday is a reminder of The Queen's popularity as people all over the world unite in celebration.
So there we have it, the first look at some of the exciting coins being issued by the Royal Mint across the year. Browse the 2021 collection now to secure your coins.
The new Royal Mint coins of 2021