King Charles III: New cipher, British banknotes

LONDON –

Britain will gradually see coins, banknotes and stamps bearing the likeness of King Charles, while the cipher of the new monarch will also appear on government buildings and red letterboxes, manufacturers and postboxes said on Tuesday. Buckingham Palace.

As the country begins to adjust to its first new head of state in 70 years, the makers of its currency and stamps have said they will begin the slow process of transitioning from using an image of the late Queen Elizabeth to the new King.

“The first coins bearing the likeness of His Majesty King Charles III will come into circulation in line with demand from banks and post offices,” said Anne Jessopp, Chief Executive of the Royal Mint.

« This means the coinage of King Charles III and Queen Elizabeth II will co-circulate in the UK for many years to come. »

The replacement process will take some time, with the Royal Mint estimating that there are some 27 billion coins bearing the likeness of the late Queen who died this month.

Similarly, the Bank of England said banknotes with a portrait of Charles should enter circulation by the middle of 2024, and that it would reveal images of the updated banknotes by the end of the year. year.

Meanwhile, the Royal Mail said the current picture of the late Queen used on ‘everyday’ stamps would be updated to feature an image of Charles. These new stamps will come into circulation once the current stock is exhausted.

All existing currency and stamps bearing the image of the Queen will remain valid.

Buckingham Palace also unveiled the new cipher for Charles – the sovereign’s monogram which is used on state documents, by government departments and by the Royal Household for postage and on column boxes – but only new ones that have not yet gone into production. .

The cipher, chosen by the new monarch from a series of designs prepared by the College of Arms, consists of the initials ‘C’ and ‘R’ – representing Charles’ name and ‘Rex’, Latin for king – alongside d a representation of the crown.

“The decision to replace ciphers will be at the discretion of individual organizations, and the process will be gradual,” the palace said.