Now we have a new monarch, people are reacting in different ways regarding money. Some are concerned about how it will all pan out, while others are seeing it as a unique opportunity to make some extra dollar.
Of course, coinage and notes (along with stamps) are destined to be change in order to feature the king rather than the queen. But this is hardly going to happen overnight or even in the next few months. New stamps, coins and bank notes will be phased in gradually. This all means there is no immediate panic about getting rid of those with Elizabeth the Second on them. You wouldn’t think so as some people seem to think that their readies are destined to become utterly worthless all of a sudden lol.
None of us have experienced a change of monarch (unless anyone reading this is about 150 years old of course) so this is a totally new experience. However, a few things are pretty much certain.
Since (I think and really cannot be bothered to check because it is very boring) the 17th century, it has been tradition for a new monarch to face the opposite way on coins. So, old king Charlie is going to be looking over to the left. This will apply to coins, notes and stamps.
It is also a given that this will all come about in 2023… and possibly before. How do I know this? Well, The Royal Mint are kind of seriously interwoven with the royals and it would appear (at the time of writing) that everything ‘not in stock’ will be in stock ‘within the next 3 months’. Does that perhaps tell you anything? Could it be they are in the know? While the majority of the country ‘felt upset’ by the loss of the queen, a select few were probably sat being busily sorting out the changeover in coinage. Maybe, just maybe, the king is going to be appearing on our money ‘within the next 3 months’ too.
It is a well-known fact that The Mint have long had a new portrait ready of the next monarch. I mean, she was old so it would make sense to have things in place really. That way Mint are prepared for any eventuality. Yes, even they had thought about this logically! Lol.
I would personally hasten a guess that coins with the king on them will begin to appear before the end of the year. If not, it will happen very early on in 2023. I would also predict that queenie notes and coins will still be usable and acceptable for another couple of years. Taking them all out of circulation is going to be a slow old job so there needs to be a realistic timeframe.
Of course, all of this is only the opinion of one guy. I may be totally wrong (apart from the facing the other way thing which is a long-standing (yawn) royal tradition). Whatever happens, it will be interesting to see as this is all landmark stuff – whether you are a royalist of not.
© Article copyright Mik Smith 2022
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