On British coins, Queen Elizabeth II looks to the right. King Charles III is likely to look to the left on the future coins. The change in direction has little to do with political worldviews, but much to do with centuries-old traditions.
A £50 note bearing the likeness of Queen Elizabeth II.
Portraits of Queen Elizabeth II are omnipresent in Great Britain and many other countries. The likeness of the deceased monarch can not only be found on countless souvenir items. The Queen has also been immortalized on official objects such as stamps, banknotes, coins or signage for decades. Accordingly, the question arises as to whether all these portraits will now be quickly replaced by images of King Charles III.
The Bank of England is on hold on monetary policy
The exchange will not take place overnight. This is especially true for cash. The monetary authority, the Bank of England (BoE), has already signaled on the day of death, that there is no reason to rush. The current banknotes bearing Her Majesty’s image are still legal tender, it said. An announcement about the future of the banknotes will only be made when the mourning period is over. The implicit message behind this: Talking about mundane issues like banknotes is not appropriate these days.
In the light of the period of national mourning now being observed in the United Kingdom, the September 2022 meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee has been postponed for a period of one week. The Committee’s decision will be announced at 12 noon on 22 September.
— Bank of England (@bankofengland) September 9, 2022
Maintaining the status quo for the time being should be welcomed in the UK. Because most Britons find it difficult to think of no longer seeing the portrait of the popular monarch on the notes. The BoE’s announcement that the next monetary policy meeting due to the Queen’s death triggered more irritation on social networks to postpone a week to September 22nd. With inflation in excess of 10 percent, many citizens are wondering whether the central bankers should treat themselves to monetary policy rest. After all, the remaining Britons all continue to do their jobs.
At least two years for the exchange
A new issue of cash is a logistical tour de force. So are currently around 4.7 billion BoE banknotes in circulation, with denominations of 5 pounds, 10 pounds, 20 pounds and 50 pounds existing. All notes together have a value of around 82 billion pounds or the equivalent of 91 billion francs. For comparison: In Switzerland, 2021 was clear with an average of 532 million fewer banknotes in circulation; their value added up in this country, where notes are primarily used to store value, but to a similarly high 88 billion francs.
How long the exchange of the previous banknotes will take and when it will start is difficult to estimate. When new synthetic £50 notes came into circulation in June 2021, the BoE set a sixteen-month period for recall and exchange. As of October 2022, the old notes can no longer be used as legal tender, although they can still be exchanged at the BoE. After the introduction of new banknotes, the previous notes should remain in circulation for a similar length of time. The Guardian estimates the period at least two years.
King Charles III will look to the left
But first you have to agree on a portrait of the king. Observers assume that the corresponding pictures and the other plans for the new cash have long been in drawers. Incidentally, Queen Elizabeth II was the first representative of the British royal family to Image on a banknote has been printed. Previously this was only done for coins. In 1960, eight years after the accession to the throne, a banknote bearing the portrait of the young queen was issued for the first time. The portrait, however, met with little enthusiasm; it was considered overly strict and unrealistic.
Coins featuring the Queen – currently 29 billion – have existed since 1953, so they came into circulation almost at the same time as the coronation. The Royal Mint, which has minted money for British monarchs for over 1100 years, adjusted the Queen’s portraits four times during her tenure. What the coins will look like with Charles remains to be seen. It is very likely that Charles is looking to the left on the coins and not to the right like his mother did. It has been a tradition since the 17th century to alternate the viewing direction.
Coins that never came into circulation
But the custom is not set in stone. Exceptions are possible if a monarch has difficulty with the change of direction, which is also intended to visually accentuate the difference to the old regency. For example, King Edward VIII, who was proclaimed king in January 1936, looked to the left even though his father, King George V, did. However, Edward abdicated in December of the same year, so that the newly minted coins never came into circulation. Some see this as an omen not to break with tradition.
The Queen’s monetary charisma extends far beyond Great Britain. Her image can also be found on notes or coins in other British Commonwealth countries, such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. How these states want to reorganize their monetary system after Queen Elizabeth II is their autonomous decision. New Zealand has already announced that it will be several years before new coins are minted. And also in Australia they have no plans to quickly exchange banknotes with the Queen.
The money printer can hope again
The British company De La Rue is probably hoping for more haste when presenting new banknotes. It prints banknotes on behalf of the BoE and has struggled with yield problems for years. The supply bottlenecks for chips and the higher raw material prices are only partially suitable as an excuse. The company was already considered badly run and lost important orders, such as those for the production of British passports. A large order for King Charles III banknotes would therefore suit the company. It is not without reason that the company’s share price has risen by 15 percent since the Queen’s death.