New £2 coin marking 100 years since Christie’s first Poirot novel
Agatha Christie is set to appear on a new £2 coin as the Royal Mint marks 100 years since the release of the Poirot creator’s first novel.
Dame Agatha’s debut, The Mysterious Affair at Styles – which introduced Detective Hercule Poirot to readers for the first time – was released in October 1920.
Designed by David Lawrence, the new £2 coin will feature silver jigsaw puzzle pieces and have the phrase “Little grey cells” written around the edge – words first used by Poirot in the novel.
Poirot has remained a popular character within pop culture, and a film adaptation of Christie novel Death on the Nile, featuring Kenneth Branagh, is set for release in October.
Branagh is the latest actor to play the Belgian detective – Peter Ustinov and Albert Finney both played him on the big screen. David Suchet is possibly the most famous actor to use those ‘little grey cells’ on the TV.
Prices for the coin will range from £10 to £1,115 for the gold version, and they will be available to buy on the Royal Mint’s website.
Clare Maclennan, of the Mint, said: “This year marks the 100th anniversary of Agatha Christie’s first published novel, The Mysterious Affair At Styles.
“To commemorate the anniversary, we are delighted to introduce this commemorative £2 coin to celebrate 100 years of mystery and honour the best-selling novelist of all time.
“The coin’s design is adorned with all the hallmarks of an Agatha Christie novel, with the jigsaw pieces representing ingenious plot twists that we are all familiar with when reading her mystery novels.”
Agatha Christie’s greatgrandson James Prichard said: “I’m delighted that the Royal Mint are honouring the work of my great-grandmother.
“She was a genius, and it is fantastic to see her stories and characters continuing to receive such recognition 100 years after her first novel was published.”
Mr Lawrence said: “The coin was about Agatha Christie’s incredible creativity – referencing just one element from such a vast body of work would not adequately sum up her contribution to the mystery genre.
“The jigsaw turned out to be the best metaphor for an Agatha Christie mystery: the story is gradually pieced together but it is not until the final missing piece is dropped into place that the whole picture can be seen.”