The Royal Mint have designed a new set of coins for the reign of Charles III. All the coins feature plants and endangered animals from the UK.
Animals have appeared on coins all over the world throughout history. Often countries will choose to represent their national identity by displaying their native wildlife.
Animals have also appeared on British coins before. In the 1930’s the farthing, a pre-decimal coin worth a quarter of a penny, displayed an image of a wren - the smallest native British bird for the smallest British coin.
You can still find 10p coins in circulation today with a lion on the reverse side. The lion represents England on the coins, and other images were used to represent the other nations of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The new designs for Charles III coins are decorated with images of endangered British wildlife to help raise awareness of the threat to our natural environment and reflect the king’s passion for conservation and nature.
Find out more about some of the animals that feature on the coins and other British wildlife via this link to the Natural History Museums wildlife learning resource.