The angelic upstart!
FIRST there were the tea towels and the mugs – now, to celebrate its 20th birthday, the Angel of the North will star in a new collection of ‘quintessentially British’ 10p coins.
Gateshead’s iconic structure features in the Royal Mint’s collection of 26 new 10p designs intended as an A to Z of what makes Britain great.
James Bond, fish and chips, an English breakfast, the Loch Ness Monster and even queuing have all made the list.
The new 10p designs will be released into general circulation from Thursday alongside collectors’ versions available to buy from the Royal Mint website.
Eager coin hunters will also be able to download a ‘great British coin hunt’ app which allows users to create a digital collection of found coins.
Available for download for free from the App Store or Google Play, it sees users scan coins with their camera and link the app to social media to share their finds, as well as design their own coins.
The app will also have a heat map built in, showing where different coins have been found and directing users to swap shops.
Anne Jessopp, chief executive at the Royal Mint, said: “These designs were selected because we feel they represent a diverse mix of elements that make up the country we all love.
“There is a lot to be proud of in the UK – whether it’s, at the highest level, our Houses of Parliament representing democracy and freedom of speech, technological advancements such as Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web, or just a good cup of tea, it’s all here in the designs.
“We hope the British public is inspired to take part in the great British coin hunt by checking their change for those miniature works of art that spell out just some of the many iconic themes that are quintessentially British.”
Dr Kevin Clancy, director of the Royal Mint Museum, said the new collection is a departure from the standard way in which the Royal Mint has celebrated what is great about Britain in the past.
He added: “We have marked great events, celebrated engineers, politicians and of course royalty.
“This series really drills down into the heartland of what makes Britain British. It’s the granularity of British life celebrated on the coinage.”
For more information about the coins, visit www. royalmint/coinhunt