Description

On 8 September 2022, Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed away peacefully at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. For more than seven decades, Her Majesty upheld a promise she made in which she pledged her heart and devotion to the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

Marking the historic succession from one monarch to another, the coins in the Memorial Coin Collection honouring Queen Elizabeth II are the first to feature King Charles III’s official coinage portrait designed by acclaimed sculptor Martin Jennings. In keeping with tradition, The King’s portrait faces to the left, the opposite direction to Queen Elizabeth II.

Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms. He acceded to the throne on 8 September 2022 upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II. He was the longest-serving heir apparent in British history and, at the age of 73, is the oldest person to ascend the British throne. In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer, with whom he had two sons, William and Harry. In 1996, the couple divorced after they had each engaged in well-publicised extramarital affairs. In 2005, Charles married his long-time partner, Camilla Parker Bowles.

A piedfort is an unusually thick coin, often exactly twice the normal weight and thickness of other coins of the same diameter and pattern. Piedforts are not normally circulated and are only struck for presentation purposes by mint officials (such as patterns), or for collectors, dignitaries, and other VIPs.