New Two Pound Coins Depict Literary Greats, Shakespeare, Beatrix Potter And Battle Of Hastings
The New Designs That 'Prove Britain's Coins Are The World's Coolest'
George Bowden— The Huffington Post UK
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"Hipster", "beautiful", and "allows you to pretend to be a pirate while shopping," aren't perhaps the usual descriptions for the coins we carry in our pockets.
Yet the latest commemorative designs for £2 pieces unveiled by the Royal Mint over the weekend quickly prompted a wave of adulation from the public on Twitter.
William Shakespeare is commemorated in two designs, with a skull aside a thorny rose, and a sword through a regal crown both aiming to pay tribute to The Bard's canon of work.
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The new 2016 coins
Meanwhile another literary giant, Beatrix Potter, is commemorated on two 50 pence pieces evoking her most famous character Peter Rabbit.
The Battle of Hastings is also featured in the batch of special coins, all of which will enter circulation this Spring.
The stark image of a skull alongside the gothic lettering on Shakespeare's coins has led many to hail the currency as Britain's best yet.
Others used the skull of the design to quip about the state of the Labour party.
The 2016 designs are not the only recent change to Britain's currency.
Last month it was announced that the last ever batch of round £1 coins was produced at the Royal Mint in Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales.
Britain's official coin maker says the new 12-sided design, which will enter circulation in 2017, is the "most secure in the world", designed to combat counterfeiting.
The Queen On New Coins For The 21st Century
Austerity Britain (01 of09)
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"With all the budgets cuts being made by the British government, even Lizzie has had to flog the family silver (and is seen here without her crown)," say Matt Roach and David Lawrie of M&C Saatchi London. "The new coin will also be 50% smaller and made of salvaged scrap metal." (credit:Matt Roach & David Lawrie)
The Queen Selfie(02 of09)
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Doner's Vicky Behun, the designer, says: "What’s more 2015 than a Royal Selfie? Forget those plain head shots - if Kim Kardashian can do it, why not ER?" (credit:Vicky Behun)
Digi Queen(03 of09)
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"A digital treatment/image overlay," comments designer Matt Ireland, a senior creative at Omobono, "moving the monarchy into the digital era." (credit:Matt Ireland)
The QR Coin(04 of09)
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Designer Vicky Behun from Doner explains: "Now the Queen can update her image everyday, via the magic of the internet. Our QR code currently links to her Wikipedia, but could also link to an Instrgram account with different shot of Her Majesty every day." (credit:Vicky Behun )
Proud To Be British(05 of09)
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Matt Ireland, from Omobono, made this design and says it's "a celebration of Britain, with a stylised illustration of The Queen, making her feel personal and real – not stuck up." (credit:Matt Ireland)
The Hipster Queen(06 of09)
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"London, home to Buckingham Palace, is the centre of fashion and culture. The Queen has always been in fashion - so we rebranded the Queen in this hipster-styled headshot," says Vicky Behun of Doner. (credit:Vicky Behun )
Queenstagram(07 of09)
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#RoyalSelfie. Creators William Grave and Yury Vorobev from M&C Saatchi London think: "With the Pope on Twitter, isn’t it about time the Queen had her own Instagram account?" (credit:William Grave and Yury Vorobev)
The Royal Bitcoin(08 of09)
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"Metal. Who needs it? It's a digital world now and a Royal Bitcoin is a great move forward," says designer Vicky Behun from Doner. "The Royal Mint will thank us for saving them all that work." (credit:Vicky Behun)
Make The Queen Pop(09 of09)
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"A modern, bright iconic treatment to make the monarchy up to date and funky" says Matt Ireland from Omobono. (credit:Matt Ireland)