The United Kingdom will make new coins this year to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein’’ as well as commemorate a century since women started gaining the right to vote. Designs on special two-pound coins will also honor the end of the First World War and the creation of the Royal Air Force in 1918, the U.K.’s Royal Mint said in a statement.
Each year the Royal Mint, the world’s largest exporter of coins, releases commemorative designs to mark major anniversaries, such as the deaths of national figures or prominent historical events.
Frankenstein will feature on a two-pound coin as well, but without any picture of the monster of Shelley’s Gothic novel. One side of the coin has the word “Frankenstein” in the steel-colored center, with the description “The Modern Prometheus” in the yellow outer ring.
From a small print run of 500 copies in 1818, Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus has become a classic of modern literature - and a tale told and retold, time after time. The nightmare creation was born on a stormy night, when a group of friends - including Lord Byron and Percy Shelley - told each other ghost stories. A young Mary Godwin, who would later marry the poet and become Mary Shelley, was also there and her dream of a horrible creature inspired a horror story that still fascinates today. Royal Mint coin designer Thomas T. Docherty has created a design evoking the critical spark of life, featuring an electrical pulse as the heart of its design.
The Journey to Armistice
In 1918 the First World War came to an end as the Armistice was signed, bringing a silence to the battlefields. A century on, UK remember the fallen and their sacrifice as part of the commemoration of the First World War, a five-year journey in coins from Outbreak to Armistice. The moment of the long-awaited ceasefire is the subject for 2018 and the final coins in the series. The design for the Armistice £2 coin features poignant words taken from Wilfred Owen’s poem Strange Meeting
Turning Point in British Democracy
With the calls for political reform to enable more voices to be heard at the polls growing ever louder, the Representation of the People Act passed through Parliament in 1918. It gave voting rights to all men over the age of 21 and women over the age of 30, who met minimum property qualifications. It was a landmark step on the road to equal representation and to the democratic freedom we enjoy today. The coin’s design by Stephen Taylor, a graphic designer at The Royal Mint, shows newly registered voters lined up to cast their vote for the first time.
Century at the Nation’s Service
This year the British nation will join the Royal Air Force (RAF) to mark their 100th anniversary and inspire a new generation, The Royal Mint is joining the celebrations with a series of £2 coins honoring the Royal Air Force, and some of the iconic aircraft that have helped defend UK shores and aided overseas. This coin features the badge of the Royal Air Force, representing the RAF’s continued strength.
The Progress of a Prince
His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge celebrates his fifth birthday this year. All the usual milestones of life, such as his birthdays and his first day at school, are celebrated not only by his family but by a captivated public. The young prince inspires a new interpretation of his namesake, St George and the dragon. The story has been linked with royal coins for centuries, symbolizing courage and the triumph of good over evil. This design, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil, is a fitting tribute to the Prince.