Special 2020 coins to mark King George III reign and VE Day 75th anniversary

Updated

King George III’s reign and the 75th anniversary of VE Day are due to be commemorated on coins released this year, the Royal Mint has revealed.

The new British coin collection is also set to mark 100 years since Dame Agatha Christie published her first novel, and will celebrate Team GB in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Honouring 200 years since the end of King George III’s reign, his time on the throne will be commemorated in 2020 with a new £5 coin.

Dame Agatha's coin (The Royal Mint/PA Wire)
Dame Agatha's coin (The Royal Mint/PA Wire)

Alongside a depiction of the former monarch, it features illustrations of the Copper Horse monument – a statue of the king on horseback which sits in the grounds of Windsor Castle – and the King’s Observatory in Greenwich, which he commissioned.

The issue of a £5 coin is usually reserved for special royal occasions.

A special £2 coin will be minted to commemorate the beginning of the end of the Second World War, as 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

It depicts street parties and celebrations that erupted following news of Germany’s surrender on May 8 1945, as the coin is etched with a crowd of people appearing to smile and cheer and is emblazoned with the word “victory”.

The VE Day coin (The Royal Mint/PA Wire)
The VE Day coin (The Royal Mint/PA Wire)

Dame Agatha is to be commemorated on a coin for the first time to mark the centenary of her first novel The Mysterious Affair At Styles.

Dubbed the ‘Queen of Crime’, the £2 coin celebrating her legacy depicts a handgun, a bottle of poison and other icons related to one of the most successful crime fiction authors in the world.

Team GB will also be honoured by the Royal Mint on a unique 50p coin to be released ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo next summer.

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower, a ship that carried 102 men, women and children from Plymouth, England, to Provincetown, Massachusetts, a special £2 coin will be issued.

The 50p coin for Team GB (The Royal Mint/PA Wire)
The 50p coin for Team GB (The Royal Mint/PA Wire)

Nicola Howell, chief commercial officer at The Royal Mint, said: “Our 2020 annual set commemorates a broad range of important historical events and people that have had a huge impact in how we live our lives today.

“Not only that, but in support of how proud they have made our nation – both in the past and present – we’re delighted to have unveiled a Team GB 2020 50p coin in support of our athletes heading to the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer.”

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