UK Commemorative coins for 2021

[Deeman]

Is it confirmed that Decimal Day 50 pence will have second effigy on the obverse?

Confirmed.

[Deeman]

The Royal Mint will this year issue a series of 50p coins to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mr. Men.

Hope it is limited to this year only. There are at least 50 characters.

[eurocoin]

After the designer intentionally chose to depict a Martian Machine with 4 legs on the coin, as some of those depicted in Wells books had 3 legs and others 5 (so he chose his own 'interpretation'), and decided to depict a Victorian type of hat, a type of hat that cannot be seen in the books "to signify the Victorian era in which the books were released", both of which were very bad ideas of the artist.

It has now been found that also a real mistake was made on the coin. H.G. Wells was misquoted. On the edge of the coin there is written: "Good books are the warehouses of ideas", which on websites with quotes of famous people is widely believed to be a quote of H.G. Wells. In fact however Wells never said that. A character in one of his books however once said: "Good books are the warehouses of ideals". But that is not a quote of something H.G. Wells himself has ever said nor is it what is written on the edge of the coin.

[Deeman]

This is the article in the Guardian to which eurocoin refers:

It is a mystery that HG Wells' characters would have been quick to leap on, but one that would doubtless have enraged the fastidious Wells himself: what is the origin of the quote chosen by the Royal Mint and attributed to him on the new Wells £2 coin?

Intended to mark 75 years since the death of the author, the coin has already been criticised for depicting the "monstrous tripod" featured in The War of the Worlds with a fourth leg, and for giving his Invisible Man a top hat, which the character never wore. Then the Wells expert Prof Simon James spotted the quote chosen for the edge of the coin: "Good books are warehouses of ideas." James and his fellow academic Adam Roberts, a vice-president of the Wells Society, could source no such quote in Wells' writing – although it is credited to him on various inspirational quote websites.

"Wells is one of those authors who is often given as the author of misattributed or invented quotations on the internet – there's a notorious one about seeing a human being riding a bicycle for which neither I nor any other Wells scholar has been able to identify a source," said James. "Surely the Royal Mint hasn't just plucked a quotation off the net without checking the source ... has it?"

Author Eleanor Fitzsimons solved the mystery. She tried searching Wells' writing for a quote with "warehouses" in it, and found an approximation in his obscure work Select Conversations With an Uncle (Now Extinct) and Two Other Reminiscences. That quote, however, is not what appears on the coin: it reads, "Good books are the warehouses of ideals."

"I absolutely love solving literary mysteries," said Fitzsimons, whose biography The Life and Loves of E Nesbit features an appearance from Wells; Nesbit taught her fellow author how to play badminton, and he seduced her daughter.

Unfortunately for the Royal Mint, not only is the Wells quotation inaccurate, the actual sentiments expressed are likely to be far from what the author intended. The words are spoken by a character who believes that ideals should be hidden away in books, and goes on to say that "there is a time for ideals, and a time when they are better out of the way".

"The correct quotation is not Wells speaking in his own voice, but in the voice of a character whose opinion is definitely not always to be trusted. English academics exhort our students to check the original source when they can – what a shame the Royal Mint didn't think to do so before producing all these coins with a letter missing," said James, adding that Wells had an antipathy to 19th-century notions of high culture: "He would have been all for people reading The Republic or The Origin of Species or Wells' own work ... [but] the notion of 'books are wonderful' would make his blood boil."

The error echoes a previous literary mistake by the Royal Mint: the £10 Jane Austen bank note was printed with the quote, "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!" – a line spoken not by Austen but by her character Caroline Bingley, who has no interest in books at all.

Asked about the source of its quotation, the Royal Mint told the Guardian that "Good books are the warehouses of ideas" was "widely associated with HG Wells".

Its four-legged tripod, meanwhile, is "an interpretation of the various machines in War of the Worlds", and the invisible man is "wearing a Victorian top hat to signify the era".

It added that all themes considered for Royal Mint coins go through a planning and design selection process governed by an independent panel known as the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, which includes experts in art, heraldry, typography, sculpture, history and numismatics. It did not mention that any literary experts had been consulted.

In the topic Origin of Edge Inscriptions on £2 Coins, I have added the word "misquoted" to reply#8

[eurocoin]

The Decimalisation 50p will tomorrow be released in BU packs. The coin will not be released into general circulation. The coins in the BU packs will depict the Jody Clark portrait on their obverse.

[Deeman]

50th Anniversary of Decimalisation.

[Col1n666]

Tristan da Cunha have released a coin set to mark 50 years of decimalisation. The set includes 1/2p, 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, and 50p. I quite like it although I don't think it's worth the £245 asking price!

[Deeman]

The Royal Mint will this year issue a series of 50p coins to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mr. Men.

Plenty of scope! 49 in total.

[MCz]

Plenty of scope! 49 in total.

Maybe one per week - they still have a chance to issue all 49 this year.
(It's joke of course...)

[Deeman]

With regard to potential issues within the Diversity category, I thought that the trio of historical figures below would be well received as an initial offering this year:

Olaudah Equiano - the ex-slave and the first political activist within Britain's African community.
William Cuffey - the ex-slave and a prominent Chartist leader.
Mary Jane Seacole - who devoted her life to learning about medicine and caring for others.

Any thoughts from forum members?

[eurocoin]

Disappointing news for all those looking forward to the Mr Men coins. In contrary to my previous message they will be collectors coins, not commemorative coins. 3 different coins will be issued this year for the commemoration.

[Deeman]

Disappointing news for all those looking forward to the Mr Men coins. In contrary to my previous message they will be collectors coins, not commemorative coins. 3 different coins will be issued this year for the commemoration.

Appreciate the update, eurocoin. Do we assume, therefore, there will be a mix of Mr Men & Little Miss characters?

[eurocoin]

Appreciate the update, eurocoin. Do we assume, therefore, there will be a mix of Mr Men & Little Miss characters?

The coins commemorate the Mr Men and Little Miss books. I an not allowed to say too much but one coin for one, another coin for the other and the third commemorating both seems like a good idea, doesn't it? 

[Alan71]

Disappointing news for all those looking forward to the Mr Men coins. In contrary to my previous message they will be collectors coins, not commemorative coins. 3 different coins will be issued this year for the commemoration.

It's probably me being thick, but I'm not sure I understand the difference between "collectors coins" and "commemorative coins".  Can you clarify?

[Deeman]

It's probably me being thick, but I'm not sure I understand the difference between "collectors coins" and "commemorative coins".  Can you clarify?

It looks like it is going to be a mix of Mr Men & Little Miss characters. The Mr Men series started in 1971, The Little Miss series started in 1981. Therefore it cannot be a common commemoration.
You would have to have a dedicated topic/subject for a commemoration.