For nearly 70 years the picture of Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on all the United Kingdom’s coins and for nearly 60 years on its banknotes.
With her passing, many have asked whether His Majesty King Charles III will now take her place. And, if so, what happens to the current coins that already have Queen Elizabeth II’s picture on them?
Throughout this article, we will explore what is going to change on the coins and banknotes from the United Kingdom and how soon we can expect to see these changes.
How Long Was Queen Elizabeth II On The UK Currency?
Queen Elizabeth II appeared on the coins in the United Kingdom for nearly 70 years. In addition to that, she also appeared on the nation’s banknotes for almost 60 years. She was the first monarch to appear on the nation’s banknotes.
On the coins and notes, multiple different images of Queen Elizabeth II are present from different stages of her life.
In addition to the currency of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II also appeared on the currency of multiple other nations that were formerly under British rule.
Will King Charles III Now Appear On The UK Money?
Yes, now that King Charles III has been sworn in as king he will be the face of all new currency in the United Kingdom.
On the 27th of September, the Bank of England announced that the images of King Charles III that will be included on the currency will be revealed by the end of 2022.
Once the image is released it will take many more months until the new currency featuring King Charles III enters circulation. The early estimates of when the first currency featuring King Charles III is that it should start to appear in mid-2024.
Why Will It Take So Long For The New Currency To Appear?
The reason it will take so long for the new coins and banknotes featuring King Charles to enter circulation is that there is a significant amount of stock already created and prepared. that will be processed and printed and circulated until it runs out.
Given the specialized nature and complicated process, is that goes into preventing counterfeit currency, especially banknotes are made of very specialized material and if all of this material featuring Queen Elizabeth II was thrown out it would be a significant waste of money.
As a result, the existing money supplies will be fully utilized before new supplies featuring King Charles III are manufactured and put into circulation.
What Are The Queen Elizabeth II Banknotes Made Of?
Modern banknotes are made from a polymer material. Polymer banknotes replaced paper banknotes for a variety of reasons. Polymer banknotes have a longer lifespan, making them much more cost-effective than paper banknotes. Polymer banknotes also have a significantly smaller carbon footprint than paper. Polymer banknotes are also more secure, and less vulnerable to counterfeiting than paper-based banknotes due to the see-through window included and included serial numbers.
Given there are so many banknotes already printed with images of Queen Elizabeth II, it would be a significant waste of money to throw those polymer notes out. As a result, they will be fully utilized, and then once those supplies are exhausted, the new notes will include an image of King Charles III instead.
Given there are still some very old paper banknotes in circulation, these can be expected to deteriorate and be swapped out for polymer notes to speed up the transition, but the polymer notes featuring Queen Elizabeth II will be in circulation for a considerable period of time to come.
Will Currency Featuring Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III Be In Use At The Same Time?
Yes, once the currency featuring Queen Elizabeth II runs out and they start printing and circulating coins and banknotes featuring King Charles III, there will be a considerable period of time in which currency featuring both individuals will be in circulation in the UK economy.
The period of time when currency featuring images of both King Charles III and his mother Queen Elizabeth II is likely to be considerable. Given that currency will only be removed from circulation if it is damaged, there are likely to be coins and notes featuring Queen Elizabeth II for decades to come.
What Will Happen To This Money Now?
There is a large amount of money in the form of coins and banknotes currently circulating in the United Kingdom economy. When there are significant changes to coins and banknotes the policy is generally that these coins and notes can continue to be used until they are damaged or broken. At this point, they are returned to the Bank of England, and replacement currency is issued in its place to maintain the correct money supply.
The same process will take place in this case where all the coins and banknotes featuring the queen will remain in circulation until those particular units of currency are damaged or broken at which point they will be swapped with the new currency.
There is an existing supply of new currency that features the Queen so even new currency for the next 1-2 years will still feature Queen Elizabeth II.
Will Money Featuring Queen Elizabeth II Still Be Valid?
Yes. Money that features Queen Elizabeth II is still legal tender and will remain legal tender as long as it is in satisfactory condition. Once the coin or banknote is no longer usable it will then be returned to the Bank of England and be swapped.
Holders of both coins and banknotes featuring Queen Elizabeth II do not need to have any fear or concern that their money will lose its value, or not be accepted. The Bank of England has given its guarantee that the currency will continue to be valid, and accepted – until it is damaged, and then replaced.
Will Coins and Notes Featuring Queen Elizabeth II Become More Valuable?
Though it may be possible for some particular coins or banknotes that are of particular sentimental value to people or a specifically limited edition to become valuable, it is highly unlikely that the majority of the United Kingdom currency featuring Queen Elizabeth II will ever be worth more than their actual monetary value.
The reason for this is that there is such a large quantity of coins and banknotes featuring Queen Elizabeth II that the supply is so large it will be difficult for demand for those coins and banknotes to drive the price much higher than the base monetary value for the coin or banknote.
Britannia gold coins, gold britannia coin, gold brittania coins are the type of coins that are likely to appreciate and hold their value if you are considering coins that may make a suitable investment.
Final Thoughts
The passing of Queen Elizabeth II will mean a big change to the coins and banknotes of the United Kingdom.
In time we will start to see coins and banknotes now featuring King Charles III in place of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
However, it will take some time for the existing currency supplies of both coins and banknotes to be exhausted before coins and banknotes featuring King Charles III will enter circulation.
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