Novelists honoured on new commemorative coins

THE Queen’s 95th birthday will be celebrated on one of five new commemorative coins released this year, the Royal Mint has said.

The new British coin collection for 2021 will also commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott, and the 75th anniversary of the death of science fiction author HG Wells.

The Queen, who will become the first British monarch to reach the age of 95, on April 21, will have her birthday celebrated with a new £5 coin.

The issue of a £5 coin is usually reserved for special royal occasions.

The coin features the royal cypher “EIIR”, as well as the words “my heart and my devotion” which references part of her 1957 Christmas broadcast, the first to be televised.

Five different effigies of the Queen have been created by the Royal Mint documenting her reign, with her face on every British coin in circulation.

The anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott, recognised as one of the most influential Scots in history due to his contribution to literature, will be commemorated with a £2 coin.

The 75th anniversary of the death of HG Wells, who wrote classic science fiction novels such as The Time Machine and The War Of The Worlds, will also feature on a commemorative £2 coin with a design capturing images from his work.

The 50th anniversary of decimalisation, when Britain’s modern coins were first introduced, will be commemorated on a 50p coin. Another new 50p coin will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the death of the inventor John Logie Baird, famous for his early prototypes of the television.

The commemorative set will be available to purchase from www. royalmint.com.