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British coins to feature black and ethnic minority people for first time

Started by eurocoin, July 27, 2020, 09:43:53 AM

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eurocoin

British coins set to feature black and ethnic minority figures for first time

There has never been a figure on British currency who was not white – but this is set to change. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering proposals by campaigners to have influential black and ethnic minority people featured on a set of coins, Treasury minister John Glen told The Sunday Telegraph. Those under consideration include the first Indian and Gurkha soldiers who received the Victoria Cross, British-Jamaican Crimean War nurse Mary Seacole, and Noor Inayat Khan, a World War II agent and one of only four women to have received the George Cross. Plans have been submitted to the Royal Mint, which has been encouraged by the Treasury to draft proposals and designs for potential coins.

Mr Glen told the paper Mr Sunak was 'keen to support' the 'timely proposal'. 'The Chancellor is aware of this. We are obviously supportive and keen to be positive about it, we need to see some firm proposals from the Royal Mint but we are keen for this to happen,' Mr Glen said.

No non-white person has ever featured on British coins or notes. The Banknotes of Colour campaign, led by Zehra Zaidi – a former Conservative Party parliamentary candidate – has been fighting for representation. Mr Sunak has previously expressed support for the anti-racist cause highlighted by the Black Lives Matter protests, and supported calls for widespread changes in attitudes. He said: 'As a British Asian of course I know that racism exists in this country. And I know people are angry and frustrated. They want to see, and feel, change.'

Source: Metro

eurocoin

Reactions of collectors about this news have been mainly negative. The general opinion is that there is no need for this whatsoever. The Banknotes of colour Campaign, that has been protesting for years for BAME people to be included on currency but only recently got some power following the protests in the US, gives the suggestion that the UK and the British people are a bunch of racists while in fact none of that is true.

In general few people have been commemorated on UK coins. If you then also take into account that these already are minorities of the population and that few black people and people of ethnic minorities in the UK have achieved something that meets the level to deserve a commemorative coin, it is not at all strange that so far only 1 black person has been commemorated on a UK coin (Walter Tull). So that this would be the first time is fake news.

Collectors are not interested to suddenly see a series of coins for BAME people. They have nothing against commemorating BAME people who have achieved something worthy of commemorating on a coin, but only when there is a real commemoration (like X years since their birth or death), just like that also happens with all other people.

Deeman

I, personally, think its a very good idea.

Commemoration by topic would easily fit the bill.
Those mentioned associated with war would make an excellent series.
Sport another worthy series.

There is no need for British descent. People's efforts with regard to the UK should suffice for recognition.

Figleaf

A country is for all its inhabitants, young or old, male or female, whatever the pigment situation of their skin. Discrimination on such characteristics is wrong in any form.

Discrimination and hate crimes have not somehow skipped the UK. It is up to the government to correct that. There is a range of measures available. Showing that people with different colour of skin have the same potential of contributing to the country is highly middle-of-the-road and by far not a be all and and all. There remains a difficult and large job of education and changing attitudes to do, let alone suppressing vicious behaviour. Claiming that "few black people and people of ethnic minorities in the UK have achieved something that meets the level to deserve a commemorative coin" is a slur, especially in view of the list of potential candidates.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

eurocoin

Quote from: Figleaf on July 27, 2020, 11:14:35 AM
Claiming that "few black people and people of ethnic minorities in the UK have achieved something that meets the level to deserve a commemorative coin" is a slur, especially in view of the list of potential candidates.

Actually it is just the truth and the list of potential candidates is short. Certainly if you compare it to the list of UK people who are not BAME. It is not strange that only 1 BAME person has so far been commemorated. There is no disproportion and so the UK currency is not racist. As a result of this the Campaign should be ignored.

Figleaf

No, it is just false. You are comparing a list of people who have lived on the islands for over 2000 years ruling the land and accumulating wealth with a list of people who lived there since decolonisation who were systematically discriminated, keeping them poor and away from power. That's like arguing that all English kings were great people and all farmers are villains, an argument that was seriously made in medieval times, but is clearly false and has no place in modern discourse.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

chrisild

There is nothing wrong, in my opinion, with honoring people on coins who were not white and not male. :) Problem is that the number of coins with such portraits or themes is limited. So yes, when there are two worthy "candidates" who might be honored on a commemorative coin, why not pick the one who is not "white"?

This is, and will continue to be, a difficult subject. In many European countries, people who we might want to commemorate on coins were white male writers, white male classical composers, white male painters or sculptors, and so on. Then again, focusing on those "WM" people means perpetuating this perception. Not that great. Bottom line: Collecting ideas of who could or should be honored this way is a good idea, I think.

Christian

eurocoin

Quote from: Figleaf on July 27, 2020, 11:57:55 AM
No, it is just false. You are comparing a list of people who have lived on the islands for over 2000 years ruling the land and accumulating wealth with a list of people who lived there since decolonisation who were systematically discriminated, keeping them poor and away from power. That's like arguing that all English kings were great people and all farmers are villains, an argument that was seriously made in medieval times, but is clearly false and has no place in modern discourse.

It is actually a great argument. Nobody who lives today can change the past. Nobody is responsible for what happened back then. Commemorative coins need to continue to commemorate only the most worthy events and people. This should not be changed. The bar should not be lowered for these people. Also there can without any problem be waited until a commemoration emerges before they are being commemorated. In a hundred years from now, the percentage of black and minority people who have achieved something worthy of commemorating will naturally have increased as they now have much better opportunities and then these people will be commemorated aswell (albeit not on coins as they will be gone by then but that is a different matter).

chrisild

We had similar arguments here in our city when the mayor and the council majority decided a couple of years ago that more streets should be named after women. There were those who said that, historically, important people had predominantly been male, and that the "street name proportions" reflected just that. In other words, what was wrong in the past, from our POV today, should be continued? Nah, these days "important women" get a preferential treatment until the proportions are about the same, or at least not as different as they still are today.

Roughly the same could be said about streets named after people with, say, an African or Indian ethnic background. And of coins, except there are many more streets than coins. ;)

Christian

Figleaf

No, you are still not getting it. This is not about two "lists" of people and their quantified merit, ordered by size and each getting their turn to appear on a commemorative coins in order of score.

All coins are propaganda, commemorative coins more so. Apart from the fluff, like fairy tales and other people's penguins etc. subjects are chosen for emotional and political reasons, selling ideas. Who gets on a coin is a function of what the powers that be want to achieve.

Discrimination of gender, race and age (among others) is not a problem of our time, but a problem that has existed in many centuries. However, at the moment Mr. Trump and his cronies have awoken a storm at home that made politicians in other countries aware of a simmering problem. They don't like the problem and they don't like the simmering, so they want to do something about it in the name of social peace as well as economic efficiency before they have to face what is known in European politics as "American situations". That is commendable, realistic and just solid policy. It shows them learning and applying lessons. Be grateful for that.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

quaziright

I watched one of the spokesman for that movement talking about the coins with the bbc anchor yesterday; for a country that has recently issued not one, but multiple coins of Paddington bear and those other previous cartoonish coins, this seems like a long overdue thing.

Big_M

They can start with the politician of the century, BoJo; with his Turkish roots he should qualify as BAME.

eurocoin

It isn't all sunshine in the world of rainbows..

UK to mint Gandhi coin but not all people of Indian origin happy with choice

The Royal Mint is working on a proposal for a new coin commemorating Mahatma Gandhi as the first ethnic minority face to feature on British currency amid criticisms by some prominent people of Indian origin, who argue that a figure intrinsically connected to UK politics and society would have been a more appropriate choice.

A spokesperson for The Royal Mint told Times of India "We are working with the Chancellor (Rishi Sunak) and the Royal Mint Advisory Committee (RMAC) to develop a proposal...It is too early to reveal further specific details about the coin as we are still in the initial stages of discussions". The RMAC is an independent committee of experts that recommends themes and designs of coins to the Chancellor, in his role as Master of the Mint.

Her Majesty's Treasury confirmed that Mahatma Gandhi would be the face of the coin. "The Chancellor is keen that our coinage commemorates the work of the many previous generations who have served this nation and those nations that form the Commonwealth", a treasury source said.

Finance minister Sunak, who is Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy's son-in-law, had written to The Royal Mint, urging it to consider celebrating the achievements of someone from the BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) community on UK coinage. He pointed out that "for generations, ethnic minority groups have fought and died for this country". Sunak did not specifically mention Gandhi.

The letter was in response to a communication from Zehra Zaidi, who runs the 'We Too Built Britain' campaign, seeking his "active support" for new coins and banknotes to reflect the "service to the nation" by BAME individuals both in military conflict and on the front home. Zaidi, a descendant of Sayyid Bashir Hussain Zaidi, a member of India's first Lok Sabha, distanced herself from the Ghandi coin, saying he was not on the proposed list of names she had sent to Sunak. The list includes Khudadad Khan, the first British Indian soldier awarded the Victoria Cross, and Muslim British-Indian WWII spy Noor Inayat Khan. "We never pushed Gandhi", she said.

The Indian high commission in the UK welcomed the decision "Gandhi has been a symbol of equality and humanity for the whole world. His message of non-violence is more relevant today than ever", an official said.

Sudhakar Goud, spokesperson for the Indian Overseas Congress in the UK said "Gandhi fought for justice and freedom and so he is ideal for this". Kamal Dhaliwal, president of the IOC (UK), said: "This is a proud moment for us".

But London-based historian Dr Zareer Masani, author of Indira Gandhi's biography, had a contrasting view. "I thought the demand was for an outstanding British person of colour to be on our currency, not an Indian nationalist hero. The person who qualifies more than any other is Cornelia Sorabji. To select Gandhi instead is a cop out".

Lord Meghnad Desai, Chairman of the Gandhi Memorial Statue Trust, said he felt Dadabhai Naoroji would have been a better choice as he was "more connected with British political life, being the first Indian to enter British Parliament".

Labour MP Preet Gill said: "We already have a statue of Gandhi. There are lots of women not acknowledged like suffragette Sophia Duleep Singh. This is not Rishi Sunak's campaign, it has to be a community campaign".


Source: Times of India

Deeman

Will this be a change of theme to that proposed by Sajid Javid who wanted an issue to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's last visit to Britain in 2021?

Pabitra

Apparently, this coin got designed, to end the controversy