New Issue: Royal Mint reveals Remembrance Day coin

Since 2012, The Royal Mint has struck a special Remembrance Day Alderney £5 coin featuring the poppy—a widely recognized symbol of remembrance—to honour servicemen and women who lost their lives in times of war.

The reverse design for the 2016 Remembrance Day coin was created by Royal Mint designer and engraver Thomas Docherty and prominently features the poppy wreath: a symbol used by nations across the world to remember and commemorate the fallen. His design was inspired by the wreath that currently lies at The Royal Mint’s on-site war memorial in Llantrisant, South Wales, honouring colleagues who have fought in past conflicts.

“This wreath is not only personal to us at The Royal Mint but also reflects the ‘everyman’ we all commemorate on Remembrance Day; from the wreath-layers to the poppy wearers all over our country,” said Docherty, of his design. “I wanted to paint the colours of the poppies boldly and vibrantly, hopefully emphasizing that the poppy is a symbol of remembrance, but also one of hope for the future.”

The coin is available in silver Proof; silver Proof Piedford; and Brilliant Uncirculated conditions.

“Thomas’ design, inspired by the remembrance of The Royal Mint’s own war service colleagues, is also a poignant tribute to the servicemen and women across the world who have lost their lives in conflicts past and present,” said Anne Jessopp, Mint director of commemorative coin.

Available in silver Proof; silver Proof Piedfort; and Brilliant Uncirculated finishes, the coin has been colour-printed using a “tri-chromatic” printing process that layers colour onto the coin, capturing minute details of the vibrant red poppy. The obverse features the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley.

‘THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE’

The inscription chosen for this year’s coin, “Their name liveth for evermore,” is widely used on war memorials around the world and comes from the Apocryphal Book of Ecclesiasticus 44:1-14. The full quote is “Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.”

This well-known passage is often read on Remembrance Day. The words were also chosen by novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling for inscription on war memorials, when he was a member of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. He was devastated by the death of his only son John in the conflict in 1915, just six weeks after his 18th birthday.

The Royal Mint will donate 2.5 per cent from the sale of each of these coin to the Imperial War Museums.

SPECIFICATIONS