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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
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Sam Barker

First look at new King Charles III 50p coin hitting wallets from TODAY

There's finally a new coin to go with the new King - and it'll be hitting wallets very soon.

The first 50p featuring King Charles III will go into general circulation from today - and The Mirror got a sneak preview.

The Mirror met representatives from the Royal Mint to get our mitts on the tightly-guarded new coin.

It really is a historic moment.

Not only is it the first coin in circulation to celebrate the new King, it is also the first time in many of our lifetimes that coins featuring two monarchs will be legal tender at the same time.

One side of the new coin represents England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland (PA)

There will be 9.6million of the new 50ps made - that's one for every seven people in the country.

But despite this, you might struggle to spot one in your change.

That's because the coins are likely to be a hit with collectors, who will stash them away and not spend them.

At first glance there is something a bit odd about the new 50p.

I thought it might be a bit smaller than existing 50ps - but it's exactly the same size and weight.

Then I realised there are two things that make it very different to all the 50ps I've seen so far.

The coin is the first to feature King Charles III (PA)

One is that the King is not wearing a crown - thanks to a tradition that says only Queens should be pictured with any regal headgear.

The other is that King Charles III faces the left on his coins, whereas Queen Elizabeth II faced to the right.

That is due to tradition dating back to the 1600s that each monarch faces the opposite way to their predecessor.

In a nice touch, it was another King Charles who started that idea - King Charles II.

The only monarch to break that tradition was Edward VIII, who faced right when he should have faced left - as he decided that was his better side.

The coin features King Charles III on one side, and the other is a design that first appeared on Queen Elizabeth II's crown at her 1953 coronation.

The new coin will enter circulation through banks, shops and Post Offices (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)

The design shows the Royal Arms with a rose for England, a thistle for Scotland, a shamrock for Ireland and a leek for Wales.

The King's portrait also has the Latin inscription "Charles III, D, G, Rex, F, D."

For anyone whose Latin is a bit rusty, that translates to "Charles III, by the Grace of God, King, Defender of the Faith".

Finally, the coin is made of cupronickel - the same alloy used to make 5p, 20p and 50p currency now.

All of the 27billion coins featuring Queen Elizabeth II will remain in circulation until they are too old and worn to be used anymore.

That means Brits will have to get used to two faces on their coins for the first time since decimalisation in 1971.

Back then all old coins were withdrawn and replaced with new ones featuring Queen Elizabeth II.

The new 50ps will be made at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, south Wales.

Rebecca Morgan, director of collector services at the Royal Mint, said: "It is extremely exciting. In most of our lifetimes this is the first time there will be two monarchs on our coins.

"Ten million coins sounds like a lot but there will soon be lower numbers of them as people will take them out of circulation as soon as they go in."

Every single coin is signed off by the monarch.

A sketch of the design is turned into a plaster version of the coin, which is sent to the King or Queen for approval.

However, the Royal Mint was tight-lipped about how many changes the King made to his new 50p.

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