An engraving of the Duke of Cambridge and Crown Prince of England Prince William will appear on a new coin of 5 British pounds, reports the Guardian.
The coin will be minted by the Royal Mint to mark his 40th birthday.
The event is extremely important and historic, because for the first time the heir to the throne, who is not the first in line to inherit the throne, will be depicted on a coin alone. The design was unveiled before the important event at the official presentation on June 21. It was created by designer and engraver Thomas T. Doherty and includes the number 40, marking the anniversary that will celebrate William and the letter W (the first letter of his name).
The inscription on the edge reads: “His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge.”
On the other side of the coin will be minted an image of the queen, designed by Jody Clark.
Along with the new £ 5 coin, they will be issued in a limited edition in a set of two coins – a festive 0.25-ounce gold coin and a 1982 sovereign coin – the year the duke was born. The collection will also include a limited edition coin made of 5 ounces of fine gold to mark the special occasion, made with laser technology that creates “high relief”, giving the portrait of William an improved 3D look.
Claire McLennan, director of the Royal Mint’s commemorative coins, says the “elegant” design pays homage to the maturity and grace of the prince, who became an important member of the royal family, a devoted husband, and a loving father of three. the world ”.
“Design strikes a balance between the fresh energy of His Royal Highness as a young father and the ceremonial nature of his royal position. The three-quarter angle of the portrait creates a more dynamic vision rather than a traditional side profile … I used certain techniques to sculpt from clay on a digital platform to achieve the style needed for the design, ”adds the coin’s designer.
The last time William was depicted on a coin was at his wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011.
Banknotes with women’s faces: Which countries put images of ladies on their banknotes
A study by the Swedish credit company Advisa analyzed 1,006 current international banknotes and found that only 15% of them had images of women. It turns out that national currencies are quite conservative, and the presence of the fairer sex there is more than sporadic.
Countries such as Norway, for example, have renounced face banknotes, and the Norwegian Central Bank released its eighth series of banknotes in 2016, which surprisingly lacked portraits of people. The theme of this series of banknotes is “The Sea”. The designs on the back are cubic patterns that depict the shore and the horizon. Cubic and organic models follow the Beaufort scale, which shows how wind speeds affect wave patterns.
The decision to include sea creatures in the images of their money “saves” the Norwegians from joining the popular case of equality in World Bank decisions to put women’s faces on their banknotes.
The women of the world who deserved banknote characters?
Canada was the first country to use the image of Queen Elizabeth II on its money. In 1935, the country printed it on a $ 20 banknote – at that time the future British monarch was only a 9-year-old princess, according to Visual Capitalist.
Today, Queen Elizabeth has appeared on various banknotes in 19 different countries. In the Cayman Islands, it is on their $ 1, $ 5, $ 25, $ 50, and $ 100 bills.
Several other queens or royal members also came across different banknotes – the 50 GEL banknote of Georgia depicts Queen Tamar, who was Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, and the Albanian 100 Leka includes Queen Teuta, Queen of Georgia. 3rd-century Illyrian tribe.
While royalty (especially Queen Elizabeth II) is often printed on banknotes around the world, women without “blue blood” have also appeared on banknotes historically.
Writers, singers, poets, and artists are represented in many different currencies. For example, Sweden has Astrid Lindgren, the author of “Pippi Longstocking”, at 20 kroner. Besides her, Sweden has three other women in its banknotes: Birgit Nilsson, Jenny Lind, and Greta Garbo, which makes their banknotes evenly distributed between the faces of men and women – 50/50.
Among the 15 percent of women who have been, and some to this day, are on banknotes:
Cesaria Evora (1941-2011) in Cape Verde – She is a musical icon in her country and the most famous representative of the “morna” style. She is called the “Barefoot Diva” because she always appears on stage barefoot – a symbolic homage to the poor way of life of her compatriots in Cape Verde.
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) in Mexico – She is a Mexican artist known for her rebellious spirit and unconventional style in both art and personal life. Her work is a mixture of realism, symbolism, and surrealism, mixed with Mexican nationalism and folklore.
Eva Perón (1919-1952) in Argentina – She is the second wife of Argentine President Juan Domingo Perón (1895 – 1974) and the first lady of Argentina from 1946 until she died in 1952. Eva Perón’s influence is based on her role as the leader of the women’s party.
Greta Garbo (1905-1990) in Sweden – She is a Swedish-American actress, one of the biggest stars of the silent cinema period and the subsequent “golden” period.
Fatma Aliye Topuz (1862-1936) in Turkey – She is a Turkish writer, essayist, and women’s rights activist.
Nadezhda Petrovic (1873-1915) in Serbia – Nadezhda Petrovic is a significant Serbian artist from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Lesya Ukrainka (1879-1913) in Ukraine – She is a famous Ukrainian writer, playwright, and translator.
Bozhena Nemtsova (1820-1862) in the Czech Republic – She is a Czech artist, poet, and writer of drama, poetry, and children’s literature. She is considered the founder of modern Czech prose.
The Mirabal Sisters (1924-2014) in the Dominican Republic – Little known in our latitudes is the origin of the date on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women – November 25 is dedicated to the Mirabal Sisters, the day in the Dominican Republic were killed brutally three young women who dared to oppose dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo.
A quick history of women presented on American banknotes
The only time a woman was featured in a prominent American banknote was in the late 19th century, when Martha Washington, the wife of President George Washington, appeared on a $ 1 silver certificate.
After the apogee of the MeToo movement in the United States, there was much more talk about the shortage of women on American banknotes, which may soon end.
In 2016 The US Treasury Department has announced that Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the $ 20 bill. For some, it is an act of revolutionary change. This is an important action for a nation that has supported slavery for nearly 300 years. Showing an officially enslaved woman on federal currency is an important position.
When the plan was first unveiled by then-Treasury Secretary Jacob Liu in 2016, the plan was to present the design in 2020 on the centenary of the 19th Amendment (which gives women in the United States the right to vote).
The reason the banknote with the first black woman in the United States did not take place was because of President Donald Trump, who opposed the idea. Finance Minister Stephen Mnuchin has halted work on the new banknote, arguing that adding new security features to the money is a more urgent priority. According to Mnuchin, banknotes with new images cannot be put into circulation until 2028, and the future finance minister will decide whether to replace Jackson.
Today, the Biden administration stepped up efforts to put Harriet Tubman on the $ 20 bill, an initiative that has been postponed in recent years, Visual Capitalist reported.
There are many opponents to the idea of Tubman being on a banknote.
“I don’t want to see Tubman bargain at a price like she used to be a slave,” wrote Stephen W. Thrasher of the Guardian.
Harriet Tubman is an icon and figure who facilitates revolutionary change in the United States. Born into slavery and thrown out as property, Tubman opposed the transformation of his personality into goods, freeing himself and many others. Due to her extensive knowledge of the geography and topography of several states, she served as a scout for the Union Army during the Civil War. Her story is a story of perseverance, courage, and survival, and emphasizes the importance of freedom for Americans.
If that happens, Harriet Tubman will be the first African-American (male or female) to appear in federal currency, but she is not the first enslaved person to appear on paper money used in the United States.
Before the 1860s, it was common for banks to issue their banknotes decorated with images that served as anti-counterfeiting devices. Several bills printed in the Confederate states during the Civil War contained sketches of enslaved people. These images show enslaved people with plantation tools and cereals in their hands.
