A new commemorative Brexit 50p coin has been ordered by the government, after the first batch had to be melted down by the Royal Mint because they featured the wrong date.
The chancellor, Sajid Javid, originally ordered production of the original Brexit memorial coin earlier this year but around 1m coins had to be recycled because they were marked with the original departure date of 31 October.
And with the resounding Conservative victory in the general election clearing the path for Brexit on 31 January, the government has decided to have another go. Thenew coin will feature the date of the UK’s departure from the EU next to the slogan “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations”.
Following a meeting of the privy council, a proclamation issued in the name of the Queen confirmed the intention to produce “coins in gold, silver, and cupro-nickel marking the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union”.
The statement, written in the customary archaic style of royal proclamations, said that “it appears to Us desirable to determine a new inscription for the said gold, silver and cupro-nickel coins” featuring the correct date.
A Treasury spokesperson confirmed the commemorative Brexit coin was due to be issued at the end of January: “This coin will be introduced into circulation on the day the UK leaves the EU.”
The gold and silver coins are not expected to enter general circulation but are likely to be aimed at collectors.
The original Brexit commemorative coins would be of enormous interest to the same collectors, although the Royal Mint has previously said they will all be recycled rather than sold to those keen to remember previous failed attempts to get Brexit legislation through parliament. Recycled coins are sent to a scrap yard, sorted, shredded, melted in a large furnace, and then purified to be reused.
When asked about the cost of the 1m melted-down coins, the Royal Mint told the Daily Telegraph in November that taxpayers would pick up the bill but “the value from the materials will be recouped by the Exchequer”.
