Hey London Beasts, check out the cool new £2 Shakespeare coins we get to not tip bartenders with this year!
These images, designed to honor one Mr. William Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of his death, will roll out this spring on the very practical two pound coin. Although it looks a bit Game of Thrones, and a little Guns ‘n Roses to be honest, the images were designed by the Royal Mint.
Anne Jessopp, director of commemorative coin at the Mint, was also liking the new coins: “It is always exciting to see the new year’s designs revealed, commemorating the moments that matter, and revisiting some of the great events and stories from our history.”
The Great Fire of London will also get a mention on some of the 2 pound coins (happy 350th, you city-razing disaster!).
I thought we’d all be using bitcoins by now?
Other coins are getting commemorative facelifts as well. Bunny-loving author Beatrix Potter will get honored, as well as the not so cuddly Battle of Hastings, where William the Conqueror earned his nickname a mere 950 years ago. They share real estate on the seven-sided 50p coin, right now the lumpiest of all the things in your pocket, until the one pound coin (current shape: round) goes dodecagon next year. Apparently it is tougher to counterfeit a 12-sided coin.
Friends not in the UK, if you’re travelling this way soon, a pound is currently worth $1.45.
The Queen on the flipside
The redesigns happen every once and a while, not only to freshen up the look of the official coins of Great Britain. One of the main reasons is to give an accurate – somewhat accurate, let’s say police sketch accurate – image of the Queen, who has now become the longest reigning monarch in UK history. The first profile of Elizabeth II looked a little different than the fifth incarnation, but the old gal is holding up very well for nearly 90.
The new Shakespeare, etc, designs are to give “a snapshot of Britain” over the past 1,100 years that the Royal Mint has been in business. Eleven hundred years. Not a typo. Beat that, buffalo nickel.
A former ABC National, Dallas and Atlanta radio personality, Martina O'Boyle is now making movies and covering culture in London, Dublin, and as far in Europe as the cheapie flights will take her, for Pop Culture Beast.