During Elizabeth II’s long reign, the right side of her face was stamped on banknotes, coins, stamps and mailboxes. After her death, her successor, Charles III, will be pictured showing the left side. Experts estimate that the change could cost around 350 million pounds sterling (R$ 2 billion), and take several years to complete.
The Bank of England calculates that the cost to produce each banknote is between £0.07 and £0.08. There are around 4.7 billion banknotes in circulation in the UK. The cost to replace them is estimated at £350m, according to Joe Trewick of collector-oriented internet portal The Coin Expert.
“The Royal Mint [Casa da Moeda britânica] does not reveal how much it costs to produce new coins, but with 29 million of them currently in circulation, we can assume the total cost will be several million pounds,” Trewick told DW. “It should be noted that this cost will not be prepaid. .”
“It took around eight years for Queen Elizabeth II to appear on the first ballot after her accession to the throne; similar timetables should be adopted in the case of King Charles III. Furthermore, it is likely that the Bank of England and the Royal Mint already have prepared for this for some time, so some money will be earmarked, no doubt,” explained Trewick.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said in a statement that “current banknotes bearing the effigy of Her Majesty the Queen will remain the currency.” The institution said it will provide updates on the future currency after the end of the official mourning period of at least ten days.
Anne Jessopp, Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Mint, commented that “the remarkable legacy of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch will live on for many years to come”.
No recall will be required
Replacement is expected to take two years or more, with the exchange of coins taking place organically rather than through a recall. The Royal Mint manufactures 3-4 million coins a day, and is expected to continue production with the Queen’s portrait in the current design until the end of the year. That means the new style shouldn’t appear before the end of 2024 at the earliest.
When the £50 synthetic notes were launched in 2016, the Bank of England replacement took 16 months to implement, at an estimated cost of £236 million, due to the expense of upgrading and replacing the ATMs, according to CMS Payments Intelligence experts.
Elizabeth II was the first monarch to appear on Bank of England notes. Her image was updated five times as she aged. The most recent image of the monarch, designed by Jodi Clark, was released in 2015, in profile and wearing a crown and earrings. It appears on one and two pound coins, 20 and 50 pound notes and pennies.
In the past, coins of various monarchs circulated for decades after the deaths of kings and queens.
When Elizabeth took the throne, coins bearing the image of her father, from whom she inherited the crown, circulated for 20 years after his death. They were finally dropped with the introduction of decimal values ​​in 1971. The Queen’s face began to appear on coins in 1953, a year after her accession.
The Royal Mail, the national postal service, has reported that unused postage stamps will remain valid for use until at least the end of 2023. The modern postal service began in 1635, in the reign of Charles I. Today, there are more than 115,000 mailboxes in the country, so 98% of the population lives within a kilometer of one of them, according to the Royal Mail.
Each mailbox bears the insignia of the monarch who reigned at the time it was installed. Many of them contain the letters “E” for Elizabeth and “R” for Regina. The new mailboxes will have the cipher King Charles 3rd, which is represented by the acronym “CR”, for “Charles Rex 3rd”.
Asked about the cost of the move, a Royal Mail spokesperson said it was “commercial information which we will not reveal, but in line with the King’s wishes we will minimize any waste and avoidable expenses”. “Thus, we will utilize postage stamp stocks and not remove the queen cipher from vehicles and mailboxes.”
the royal seal
In the case of police stations and fire stations, thousands of the flags with the EIIR cipher that fly from the poles in front of these locations will have to be replaced.
Military medals bearing the queen’s effigy will also be exchanged, while police and military uniforms bearing the queen’s cipher – the monogram printed on royal and state documents – will need to be updated over time.
The Queen’s EIIR also appears on traditional police helmets. British passports will be issued in the name of the new king, and their wording updated.
The royal seal (“Royal Warrant”) applies to about 600 companies with a history of serving the royal family, including piano maker Steinway and gin brand Gordon’s. After the queen’s death, they will have to renew the request for the granting of the royal seal, which should not happen quickly. When Prince Philip died in April 2021, royal seal holders were given a two-year grace period.
The Queen’s image is also printed on the currencies of 35 countries – more than any other monarch. Among them are Canada, New Zealand, Fiji and Cyprus, where the royal effigy is stamped on some banknotes and coins for his position as leader of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
In a possible sign of things to come, King Charles III will not automatically appear on the Australian 5 dollar bill. A member of the Australian government stated that Elizabeth II’s image was used solely because of her personal status.
Chad-98Weaver, a distinguished author at NewsBulletin247, excels in the craft of article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a penchant for storytelling, Chad delivers informative and engaging content that resonates with readers across various subjects. His contributions are a testament to his dedication and expertise in the field of journalism.
