Charles III will be crowned at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023. His Majesty became King of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms following the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.
Charles' coronation will be the first such royal ceremony held in roughly three generations. To celebrate this momentous national occasion the UK's national mint has announced the release of an expansive range of official commemorative coins, featuring commissioned designs by a trio of talented engravers.
The 2023 Charles III Coronation range from The Royal Mint features £5 coins, a new 50p and a range of troy ounce coins struck in silver and gold. There's even a special gold Sovereign, due to be struck on the day of His Majesty's coronation. Perhaps most excitingly, coins in the range will feature a new portrait of The King, created specially for this occasion.
This is not the first time that a British coronation has been celebrated with new coinage but it is undoubtedly the most extensive collection ever produced with options for a wide range of UK coin collectors.
These new 2023 Charles III coins are available for pre-order now with delivery scheduled for after the coronation ceremony.
Crowned Coronation Portrait Of Charles III
The first definitive coin portrait of King Charles was unveiled in late 2022 to much fanfare. The artist behind this important design is British sculptor Martin Jennings, better known for his large sculptures of UK literary figures. Commissioned before Charles ascended to the throne, the effigy shows The King looking left and has already been seen on coins in the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Memorial range as well as other commemorative and circulating coins.
Though Jennings new portrait has only been in use for a few months we already have a new design to admire.
Coins in the 2023 Charles III Coronation range will feature a brand new crowned portrait, personally approved by His Majesty. This design shows Charles wearing the so-called Tudor Crown. The real Tudor Crown was destroyed in the seventeenth century but a stylised representation is still used in heraldry, including as part of The King's royal cypher.
The new portrait represents the first time that a British King has appeared crowned on his money for several centuries. While Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria were shown wearing crowns or, rather, diadems, on some of their coins, male monarchs have been shown crown less on UK money since the time of King Charles II. However, there are some international coins showing Charles III's ancestors wearing a royal crown, including his grandfather, King George VI.
Westminster Abbey Coronation 50p Coin
UK coin collectors love Fifty Pence pieces. A whole range of special one-year-only designs have featured on the reverse of these seven-sided coins but its only in recent years that royal events have been celebrated on 50ps.
The new 2023 Coronation 50p features a stylised line drawing of the distinctive Gothic architecture of Westminster Abbey. This iconic Anglican church in central London has been the location of 39 royal coronations and it's also where King Charles III will be crowned.
The Coronation 50p design is the work of Natasha Jenkins and also incorporates His Majesty's crowned royal cypher. Jenkins is a member of The Royal Mint's Product Design team and has previous created commemorative coins signed 'NP' under her maiden name, Natasha Preece. Speaking about her design she said:
'When approaching any design competition for The Royal Mint, I always know from the start that I want my designs to be instantly recognisable. For a design like this, I knew that it had to be iconic and really represent the coronation of The King. What better way to represent his coronation than the iconic building where he will be crowned on 6 May 2023? This is why I chose to opt for a stylised line drawing of Westminster Abbey that is instantly recognisable with Britain'.
- 2023 Coronation 50p BU
- 2023 Coronation 50p Silver Proof
- 2023 Coronation 50p Silver Proof Piedfort
- 2023 Coronation 50p Gold Proof
New 2023 Coronation Five Pound Crown
The 2023 Coronation range from The Royal Mint also includes a issue of commemorative Crown coins. Denominated today at Five Pounds, these coins have often been used to celebrate royal anniversaries including birthdays, jubilees, births and coronations.
The reverse of the new 2023 Charles III Coronation Crown was designed by veteran heraldic artist Timothy Noad. Noad is known for redesigning the reverse of the Sovereign, his work appearing on gold coins issued in 2002, 2005 and 2022. The latter design, for the 2022 Jubilee Sovereign, turned out to be the last Sovereign issued during the late Queen's reign.
Noad's 2023 Coronation design was inspired by a recent visit to see the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London. These historic ceremonial objects will be in use during King Charles' coronation.
Speaking to The Royal Mint about his Crown reverse, Noad said:
'I wanted to depict the crown and regalia in an original way. I looked at pictures of previous coronations and imagined zooming in on St Edward's Crown at the moment it is placed on The King's head and, seated on the throne, he will be holding the two sceptres in front of him on either side.'
The legend on the reverse of these 2023 five Pound coins reads 'THE CORONATION OF KING CHARLES III 6 MAY 2023'.
- 2023 Coronation £5 BU
- 2023 Coronation £5 Crown Silver Proof
- 2023 Coronation £5 Crown Silver Proof Piedfort
- 2023 Coronation £5 Crown Gold Proof
2023 Coronation Gold Sovereign Unveiled
The 2023 Coronation range includes the first 2023-dated gold Sovereign.
This brilliant uncirculated coin is to be struck on the day of the coronation: 6 May 2023. Such 'strike on the day' Sovereigns are rare and sought-after by collectors. These coins take serious craftsmanship to produce so only a very limited number can be minted in a single day.
The 2023 struck on the day Sovereign features the classic St George and the dragon reverse design, created for the first modern Sovereigns by Italian artist Benedetto Pistrucci. This motif is instantly recognisable to collectors of British coins and makes a welcome return to the surface of these gold coins after being replaced with new designs on recent issues. The obverse shows the new crowned portrait of King Charles III together with the date.
King Charles III's first Sovereigns were the special 2022 collection issued to commemorate the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. These 22-carat gold coins feature a one-off royal arms design by renowned British coinage artist Jody Clark, paired with Martin Jennings' definitive effigy of His Majesty. An earlier release of 2022-dated Sovereigns was made with a special reverse to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee.
Buy Gold And Silver Coronation Ounce Coins
Rounding out the 2023 Royal Mint Coronation collection is an extensive range of precious metal ounce and kilo coins, designed for serious collectors and only available in very limited numbers.
These King Charles III Coronation coins all feature the special crowned royal portrait by Martin Jennings and a distinct new commemorative design by the renown John Bergdahl. Among Bergdahl's most recent designs is the equestrian portrait of The Queen used on 2022 Platinum Jubilee coins.
Bergdahl's coronation coin show a crowned and garnished shield of royal arms with a stylised garter around, bearing the motion of the Order of the Garter. King Charles III's royal cypher is shown to the left and three intertwined letter 'C's to the right. Close examination reveals national flowers amid the flourishes. The legend reads 'THE CORONATION OF KIGN CHARLES III 6 MAY 2023'.
The artist revealed that he looked to history to create this 2023 design:
'As is the case with many of the coins that I have designed for royal occasions, I looked to the past for my inspiration. In this instance, I looked at the style of decoration prevalent during the reign of Charles I.'
- 2023 Coronation 1oz Silver Proof
- 2023 Coronation 2oz Silver Proof
- 2023 Coronation 5oz Silver Proof
- 2023 Coronation 1kg Silver Proof
- 2023 Coronation 1/40oz Gold Proof
- 2023 Coronation 1/4oz Gold Proof
- 2023 Coronation 1oz Gold Proof
- 2023 Coronation 2oz Gold Proof
- 2023 Coronation 5oz Gold Proof
- 2023 Coronation 1kg Gold Proof
When Will 2023 Coronation Coins Be Available?
You'll be able to buy official 2023 Coronation coin from 9am (BST) on Monday 24 April on The Britannia Coin Company website. That's the same time as The Royal Mint will release their stock.
Our 2023 Royal Mint Coronation coins are brand new and come in their original presentation packaging with their numbered certificates of authenticity enclosed. All our new coins are quality checked before they leave our shop in Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire.
The advantage of buying your Charles III Coronation coins from us is that we offer free UK postage. If you're ordering from elsewhere we charge a flat £15 rate for international shipping, regardless of the value of your order or its destination. Visit our Delivery page for more information on postage and packing.