The first decimal coins introduced in the United Kingdom in 1968 became a well-loved representation of British heritage. Forty years later, in 2008, this iconic coinage was refreshed with a new generation of designs.
The journey began with a competition. The Royal Mint invited submissions for six coins, seeking designs that could stand alone or come together as a unified set. We looked for concepts that would capture the spirit of Britain—perhaps rooted in traditional heraldry—while giving designers the freedom to explore new and creative interpretations.
Alongside specially selected artists and coin designers, the competition was opened to the public. People across the country were invited to submit designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins, while the £1 coin was initially excluded.
The response was extraordinary. People of all ages and backgrounds took part, submitting more than 4,000 designs from over 500 individuals. At the time, it marked the largest response The Royal Mint had ever received for a public design competition.
A Difficult Decision
The Royal Mint Advisory Committee carefully examined every competition entry, looking for a set of designs that symbolised Britain while being contemporary. After a year of meetings and discussions, a clear winner emerged.
The winning set was designed by Matthew Dent, who had seen the competition advertised in a newspaper. He had explored a number of ideas before finally developing a heraldic set.
“I felt that the solution to The Royal Mint’s brief lay in a united design,” he explained. “United in terms of theme, execution and coverage over the surface of the coins.”
Initially, Matthew experimented with ideas about birds, plants, buildings and coastal scenery. The challenge for him was sharing the four nations over six coins. He initially thought that a landscape might solve the problem, with the landscape stretching off an edge of one coin and appearing on the other.
Matthew also thought about linking the coins through heraldry. Perhaps the six coins could make up a shield when arranged horizontally and vertically. The idea worked. “This piecing together of the elements of the Royal Arms to form one design had a satisfying symbolism – of uniting the four countries of Britain under a single monarch,” he said.
One Final Piece Of The Jigsaw
As the committee discussed Matthew’s designs, they felt that the designs needed one, final piece to bring the set together as a unit. It became clear that the £1 coin should be part of the new designs.
The results are plain to see for anyone who uses the latest British coins: a set of designs that is firmly rooted in tradition yet with a beautifully contemporary feel.
