Decimal reverse designs with variations

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This topic deals with significant variations in UK decimal reverse designs. By significant, I mean those that are easily visible without the use of a magnifying glass. I have deliberately excluded obverse designs, because, though they do exist, they are fewer in number and are related to the royal portrait.

See also: Milestones in the decimal coinage of UK.

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The first variation in the reverse designs came in 1982, when the Currency Act 1982 meant that the word "NEW" could be dropped from the coins' legends at long last. To accommodate the altered legends, the reverse of two coins in particular were heavily amended: the 5 pence and the 50 pence. See the next two posts for the changes.

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If you look at the difference in the reverses of the five pence with "NEW" (top) and without it (left), you will notice that various changes have been made to the thistle.

1] The cross on the crown is thinner and originally came much closer to the legend than on the new version.

2] The two fleur-de-lis ornaments rising from the rim of the crown have been reduced in size on the new version.

3] The general shape of the crown is slightly different.

4] The flower of the thistle, which supports the crown, is considerably narrower on the new version.

5] On the new version, the leaves of the thistle extend further downwards than before.

6] Look at the stem of the thistle. On the new version, it is longer, thicker and more detailed than before, and the stems of the leaves start higher up the thistle stem than before.

7] On the new version, look at the shape of the leaves - top and bottom. There seem to be more prickles at the bottom of the leaves, and they are longer too, and there are also longer prickles at the left and right hand sides. On close inspection, you will see that the overall shape of the leaves has changed considerably.

8] The shape of the numeral 5 seems to be subtly different in the new version. On the old version, there is a noticeable upward tail at the right hand side of the horizontal top bar of the numeral - this has disappeared on the new version. There may be other slight differences between the numerals (width), but the images are not detailed enough for me to be sure.

I now know that Christopher Ironside did actually amend his own designs. He corresponded with experts on heraldry before making extra amendments to the crown and thistle. However, his reasons for doing this are related to obscure aspects of heraldry that I do not understand.

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50 pence 1969.

50 pence 1982 (proof FDC version).

There were also considerable differences between the older and newer versions of the Britannia design on the reverse of the fifty pence.

1] On the older version, the trident appears closer to the rim. Its middle prong is shorter and the tow other prongs are less broad at the tip.

2] On the newer version, Britannia is holding the trident at a lower angle. This is presumably to avoid overlapping the letter "T" in the word "FIFTY".

3] On the newer version, the crest of Britannia's helmet is wider than before, and the top right-most point of the crest extends further.

4] On the older version, the bottom-most point of Britannia's helmet has a small upward curl to it. This has disappeared on the newer version.

5] On the newer version, Britannia's profile looks somewhat different and seems to be broader than before.

6] On the newer version, Britannia appears to have less hair falling onto her neck.

7] On the older version, Britannia appears to facing more to the front than on the previous version. This has the effect of making the outline of her breasts look more pronounced than on the newer version. More of her stomach is visible, as it is turned more towards us, and you can see more of how the folds of her dress fall.

8] Britannia is sitting in an apparently more "comfortable" position on the newer version, so that her thighs and knees are held higher up.

9] On the newer version, Britannia appears to have fewer folds in her dress, yet the folds at the bottom left, close to the shield, look more complex than in the older version.

10] On the older version, the two main crosses on the representation of the Union Flag on Britannia's shield run together; on the newer version, they are clearly separated by a dividing line.

11] On the newer version, the sprig Britannia is holding appears to have broader leaves. And look at the right-hand side of the sprig on the older version: there are three leaves growing together in a cluster; this threesome has disappeared on the newer version.

12] The fur on the lion's front appears to extend further to the right on the older version. And on the newer version, there is now a gap between the bottom part of the lion's front fur and its feet - though I am not sure whether they are meant to be the lion's feet or whether it is the bottom of Britannia's robe piled up on the floor.

13] On the older version, the numeral zero in the figure fifty seems to be narrower than in the newer version.

These are all the major differences I can see. There do seem to be some other minor differences, but these may simply be down to the different amounts of wear on the coins in the images.

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Apparently there were also minor changes to the reverse of the half penny, which you can see here. They are not easily visible, however, therefore I do not consider them significant.

There were also slight amendments to the reverse of the penny, particularly with regard to the position of the numeral "1". You can check out the changes here.

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UK, 2 pounds, 2002. England.




UK, 2 pounds, 2002. Scotland.




UK, 2 pounds, 2002. Wales.

In 2002 a set of four circulating commemorative 2 pound coins carried the same design.

However, each one showed a different flag, to celebrate the four nations of the UK.

Here are three of the four designs, which commemorate the Commonwealth Games of that year.

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And here is the fourth, which (most surprisingly) features the Red Hand of Ulster for Northern Ireland.

See also: The Strange Story of the Northern Irish Two Pence.

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The next significant reverse design variation of which I am aware occurred in 2007, and it is an unusual one. That year a 2 pound coin was issued to commemorate the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery. The reverse design was by David Gentleman. The proof version of the coin, seen above, shows his initials on the reverse, which as usual has a smooth or "mirror" field.

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Curiously, the circulating version of the Slavery 2 pounds does NOT show David Gentleman's initials.

Also, the coin's field is textured, not smooth.

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In 2011, in the run-up to the London Olympics of 2012, the Royal Mint released a circulating commemorative 50 pence to celebrate the Aquatics event. The first version of the reverse design show the swimmer's face covered by water. Only a small number of coins was struck with this design, so that version of the coin is very valuable. The Royal Mint quickly changed the design to show more of the swimmer's face, and that version of the coin is far more common.

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See also: UK Decimals: Overview of Circulation Coinage to Date.