From A to Z, coin collection spells out the best of British

Royal Mint circulates millions of 10p coins celebrating everyday aspects of national life

QUEUING, cricket and a nice cup of tea – they’re part of the fabric of the nation. Now these emblems of Britishness will be celebrated in a new collection of 10p coins showcasing the “A to Z of what makes Britain great”.

A collection of 2.6million “quintessentially British” coins will be circulated by The Royal Mint today, decorated with a range of images designed to encapsulate British identity.

There are 26 designs, one for each letter of the alphabet. The final designs, inspired by a public vote, were chosen by The Royal Mint advisory committee.

The coins include the Angel of the North and James Bond, as well as engravings showcasing the Loch Ness monster, a post box, the world wide web, the National Health Service and King Arthur.

Some sports fans and royalists might be left disappointed, however, as cricket was chosen to represent sport in place of football or rugby union, and the Queen missed out in place of “queuing”.

There were also arguably less imaginative coin designs – including “X marks the spot” for the letter X, and a picture of a Mackintosh overcoat for the letter M.

“It’s the granularity of British life celebrated on the coinage,” Dr Kevin Clancy, director of The Royal Mint Museum, said.

Would-be coin collectors wishing to get their hands on the entire collection can download the free Great British Coin Hunt app. The app allows users to “scan” a picture of the coin to place it into a digital collector’s folder, and will feature a heatmap that will show where coins have been found around the country.

The app will also direct people to “swap shops” where they can trade coins with fellow collectors. A collectors’ folder and uncirculated versions of the 10p coins will also be available to purchase from The Royal Mint website.

“The themes all reflect quirky and well-loved aspects of British life,” Anne Jessopp, The Royal Mint chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph.

“I think it is great fun to have familiar everyday items featured on our everyday coinage, so the public may be surprised and hopefully delighted to see favourites such as ice cream cones, English breakfast and a teapot on their 10p coins.

“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,” Ms Jessopp said.

“I see this as a celebration of all things British and quirky.”

She added: “A, for Angel of the North, and Anne, is my favourite, as I originate from the North, but I also love the detail on R for robin too.

“It’s very pretty, as well as topical at the moment – the robin is shown sitting on a branch surrounded by snowflakes.”