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King Charles’ official coinage portrait unveiled by Royal Mint

King Charles will replace his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, to become the first king on British coins since 1952

LONDON, UK: The new British era has begun after King Charles ascended the throne after the late Queen Elizabeth II. The British will witness many fundamental changes for the first time in their lives after their longest-reigning ruler has been in office for 70 years. The Royal Mint of Great Britain has issued its first official coin featuring the portrait of King Charles after the monarch personally approved it.

King Charles' portrait will initially appear on special £5 crown and 50p coins in honor of the late Queen's life, before expanding to commemorative coins and general circulation. As per tradition, King Charles' portrait faces to the left, whereas Queen Elizabeth II’s looks to the right. Although the coins bearing King Charles' and Queen Elizabeth's portraits will co-circulate.

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On one side of the commemorative £5 coin ($5.55) will feature King Charles, while on the reverse side there will be two new portraits of Queen Elizabeth to mark her historic life and legacy which will begin circulating on Monday, October 3. Accompanying the King’s portrait is a Latin inscription, which translates, 'King Charles III, by the Grace of God, Defender of the Faith.'

The new image to appear on 50 pence coins ($62.5 cents), will boast a design originally made to mark the Queen’s coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1953 and where her funeral service was also held this month. It also features a shield, which contains the four quarters of the Royal Arms, and symbols for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and will begin circulating around December. 

The new monarch's effigy was created by British sculptor Martin Jennings. He said, “It is humbling to know it will be seen and held by people around the world for centuries to come.” The Royal Mint’s chief executive officer, Anne Jessopp, said it was “proud to continue” the tradition of producing coins with the monarch’s effigy. Based in South Wales, the Royal Mint has depicted Britain's royal family on coins for over 1,100 years, documenting each monarch since Alfred the Great. Around 27 billion coins with the Queen's portrait are in circulation in the UK and will still be legal tender once those bearing King Charles’ portrait enter circulation. 

Similarly, stamps, postboxes, passports, and uniforms are also expected to undergo changes. On new postboxes, the EIIR royal cipher for Elizabeth II Regina will change. They could now change to CRIII once Charles ascends. British passports currently read as "Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and require in the name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.” However, with the new King, the text will reportedly be tweaked to reflect male pronouns. As for uniforms, the queen's cipher on them will be replaced by the King's cipher. The national anthem is reverted to the version that was originally written for the male monarch, 'God Save the King'.