Charles makes currency debut

Britain’s Royal Mint has unveiled the first coins to feature the portrait of King Charles III. Britons will begin to see Charles’ image in their change from about December, as 50p coins depicting him gradually enter circulation. The new monarch’s effigy was created by British sculptor Martin Jennings, and has been personally approved by Charles, the Royal Mint said yesterday. In keeping with tradition, the King’s portrait faces to the left — the opposite direction to his mother’s, Queen Elizabeth II. “Charles has followed that general tradition that we have in British coinage, going all the way back to Charles II actually, that the monarch faces in the opposite direction to their predecessor,” said Chris Barker at the Royal Mint Museum. Charles is depicted without a crown. A Latin inscription surrounding the portrait translates to “King Charles III, by the Grace of God, Defender of the Faith”.