Cost of changing design of coins and notes

The request was partially successful.

Dear Royal Mint,

I am requesting this information under the Freedom of Information Act.

1) How much did it cost to change all the coins and notes when Elizabeth II took the throne in 1953?

2) In the event of the Queen dying, how much do you estimate it will cost to change all the coins and all the notes to the new King or Queen? And how quickly will this be done in the event of her death?

Yours faithfully,

Glenn Hutt

Dear Royal Mint,

By law, you should have responded to my FOI request by now.

Please respond as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

Glenn Hutt

Joseph Payne,

Dear Mr Hutt

Please forgive me for the unacceptable delay in replying to your Freedom
of Information request. It was inadvertently misfiled and thus did not
receive the prompt attention it deserved.

The matter is being looked into and a full response will be provided as
soon as possible.

Yours sincerely

Joseph Payne
Assistant Curator
The Royal Mint

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Joseph Payne,

Dear Mr Hutt

Further to my email of 25 January, I am writing in reply to your Freedom of Information request.

'(1) How much did it cost to change all the coins and notes when Elizabeth II took the throne in 1953?

(2) In the event of the Queen dying, how much do you estimate it will cost to change all the coins and all the notes to the new King or Queen? And how quickly will this be done in the event of her death?'

With respect to your first question, please be aware that Royal Mint records from the 1950s are now held at The National Archives. To pursue the matter further, you would need to arrange a visit to their site at Kew.

As for your second question, the preparation of a new royal portrait for the United Kingdom coinage will inevitably take several months. At the same time it is usually decided to prepare new reverse designs. Until the new designs are ready, coins continue to be struck with the old designs.

We do not, however, have an estimate for the overall cost of changing the coin designs upon the accession of a new monarch. It may be helpful to note that the winner of the competition for the new definitive reverse designs introduced in 2008 received prize money of £35,000. Bear in mind, however, that the royal portrait was not included in that competition and the costs of the change-over would by no means be limited to the prize money paid to the winning artist.

I should perhaps make it clear though that, following the accession of a new monarch, coins of the old reign will not be withdrawn, rather they will continue to circulate side-by-side with coins of the new reign.

The Royal Mint has no involvement with banknotes which are the responsibility of the Bank of England.

Kind regards

Joseph Payne
Assistant Curator
The Royal Mint

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