The Royal Mint has just dropped the new Charles III coin effigy (AKA: the noggin design) and since Australia will be copping this update very soon, there are three things to unpack. Number one is the new noggin design itself, number two is the timeline, and number three is the overall vibe. Let’s go!
First up, let’s chat about the design of this effigy and also giggle at the word effigy. It’s so silly sounding!
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As you can see from these piccies, the effigy on this new coin design is facing left whereas the old design featuring Queen Elizabeth II faced right.
It is customary for the new monarch to face the opposite direction to the previous one because the UK absolutely froths a good ol’ tradition.
The design was produced by Martin Jennings who is supposedly big in the world of sculpting.
I’ll have to take the Mint’s word for it because I do not have the slightest insight into the sculpting world. Does anyone?
“The piece is modelled in plaster larger than the size of the coin, so about the size of a dinner plate,” Jennings told the Mint in an interview.
“I work by hand using tiny, tiny millimetres of material to model it. And eventually, once it is complete and cast in plaster, my original design can be digitally reduced so that the impression is the right size for a coin.”
Well there you go!
As for the timeline, we’ll have to wait until 2023 to stick Charles III’s face into a pub pool table or an arcade claw machine in Australia.
If you’re a coin collector and want to get your mitts on this new coin design sooner, the Mint is releasing a memorial collection on October 3 but you might need to import it from the UK.
As for the overall vibe, it’s pretty plain. But then again, isn’t Charles III the plainest Jane you ever did see?
For comparison, Lizzy’s effigy at least had a bit more going on.
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Her crown, earring and hair all banded together to create a coin that actually felt like it had ~some~ artistic merit.
Meanwhile, the new coin design for Charles III is literally just a sideways old dude looking blankly into space.
I can see that down at the bowls club any day of the week.
If you’ve been totally bored by this new coin design update, fear not!
You might still be able to monetise your boredom by selling your old Lizzy coins. Here’s our article on the coins worth selling.
