sovereigns Archives - Page 3 of 6

All you need to know about Royal Cyphers

Posted on March 18, 2023March 17, 2023 by Vanessa Brockwell

A royal cypher is a monogram or monogram-like device of a country’s reigning King or Queen. Often, royal cyphers consist of the initials of a monarch’s name and title, sometimes interlocking, and with a crown sat above.

Royal cyphers usually appear on letter boxes, government buildings and State documents. In Britain, they are also often used on stamps. The most recognisable one being Queen Elizabeth II’s, which is her initial ‘E’, with the initial ‘R’ for Regina, and the Roman numerals ‘II’ sat in between. In this blog, we explore all you need to know about royal cyphers…

The National Flowers of the United Kingdom

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Vanessa Brockwell

To recognise the importance of the four countries of the United Kingdom to the King, each is represented on individual coins of our latest release; the 2023 King Charles III Accession Sovereign Series, by their distinctive national flowers: the English rose, the Scottish thistle, the Welsh daffodil and the Irish shamrock. You may recall that upon his accession King Charles III visited each of these home nations.

In this blog, we explore all there is to know about the national flowers of the United Kingdom.

The 2023 King Charles III Accession Sovereign Range

Posted on March 10, 2023November 29, 2023 by Vanessa Brockwell

This is a great moment in British history: they have a new monarch (King Charles III) for the first time in over seventy years, and their first king since the mid-twentieth century. There are generations alive today for whom this will be the first time they have uttered the words “God save the king”. In this day-and-age of instant news it’s easy to gloss over just how significant this event is: the last time there was a change of monarch in Britain, the average house price was just under £1,900, wartime rationing was still in place, a pint of beer cost 9p, a pint of milk 4p, and only 8% of households had a fridge. Gold was just over £12 per ounce!

Another exciting first for Britain’s new king’s reign: for the first time in over 200 years of gold sovereign history the accession of a monarch has been commemorated by the striking of commemorative gold sovereign coins. Introducing The 2023 King Charles III Accession Sovereign Range, and in particular, the one-eighth sovereign…

The Changing Faces of Coin Portraiture

Posted on March 6, 2023March 3, 2023 by Emma Wilde

In an age filled with television, social media and all of the technology we could ask for, it’s hard to imagine a time where people couldn’t ‘virtually’ see each other, including their own Monarch or leader.

However, centuries ago most people would have only seen the face of their leader on a coin, with the obverse side depicting the image of a monarch or leader for thousands of years. We’ll be taking a look back at coin portraiture throughout the ages, and how dramatically this has changed.

Q&A with Coin Designer Jody Clark

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Vanessa Brockwell

The 2023 King Charles III Greatest Monarchs Gold Sovereign Series features a portrait of King Charles III by artist Jody Clark. Jody Clark also designed the Fifth (and final) Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II which appeared on all of her British coinage from mid-2015 to last year.

Jody has created some incredible designs for Hattons of London, so we decided to speak to him about his creative journey and what it was like to design this important gold sovereign ‘first’ series. Here is what he had to say….

The 2023 King Charles III Greatest Monarchs Gold Sovereign Range

Posted on February 10, 2023November 29, 2023 by Vanessa Brockwell

Britain has a new monarch. This is something that no-one for generations has written. Not for 70 years has this been uttered and it feels remarkable to be able to declare to you that there are now coins bearing the portrait of ‘our King’. While the world debates what sort of monarch King Charles III will be, the simple truth is that he will in many ways be different to his mother. It’s a different world after all: his accession was announced in an instant on social media, and his accession ceremony was broadcast live to hundreds of millions of households around the globe.

The most important thing for all of us, is that with the accession of King Charles III, a thousand years of Britain’s monarchy endures. This is a significant moment in the history of our nation, therefore, a new series of sovereign coins have been released, which pays tribute to some of Britain’s greatest ever monarchs. Introducing the 2023 King Charles III Greatest Monarchs Gold Sovereign Range, and in particular, the one-eighth sovereign…