Charles 3rd should look left on British coins; understand the reason

There are 29 billion British coins in circulation bearing the face of Queen Elizabeth II. Since she first appeared on coins a year after her accession to the throne in 1952, the Royal Mint has used five different portraits. And in all of them it faces the right side.

Now it’s King Charles III’s turn to appear on the coins, but he’ll likely be looking the other way.

Since the reign of Charles II in the 17th century, the monarch has typically appeared on coins in the opposite position to his predecessor, according to the royal family’s website. As Elizabeth was facing to the right, the new king will likely be shown looking to the left.

There was one exception: Edward 8th, who was king for less than a year in 1936, looked to the left because that was what he preferred, although the monarch before him, George 5th, also looked to the left. The tradition was resumed with Jorge 6º, who looked to the left. He reigned until his death in 1952.

“It may have practical use in the fact that it obviously marks a difference from the previous reign,” said Nigel Fletcher, a professor at King’s College London. According to him, after new images of Charles are created, molds will be produced to make the coin.

Money bills are a different matter. In 1960, Elizabeth became the first monarch to appear on banknotes, meaning there is no convention as to which way the monarch looks on banknotes. There are over 4.7 billion Bank of England notes in circulation.

With the nation in mourning, it is unclear when the changes will be made. The process of launching the new currency “will not happen overnight,” said Ethan Ilzetzki, an associate professor at the London School of Economics.

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, said in a statement on Thursday that an announcement would not be made until the mourning period ended.

The Royal Mint, the body responsible for producing coins in Britain, said in a statement that “more information will follow”, but did not specify a timetable. “As we respect this period of respectful mourning [sic]we continue to mint coins as usual,” said the Royal Mint.

The imminent change to the British currency coincides with the continued replacement of paper notes with polymer, a cleaner material that offers greater protection against fraud. The switch to polymer started in 2016 and after 30 September people will no longer be able to use the current £20 and £50 notes for payments, but will be able to exchange them at some banks or the Bank of England.