Today, Tower Mint welcomed the fabulous Dame Joanna Lumley, who struck and approved the very first 2023 Gibraltar coinage issued to celebrate His Majesty, King Charles III Coronation. 👑🥂🍾🥂👑
With a little over a week until King Charles III’s coronation, Tower Mint hosted a very special first strike ceremony of the new Gibraltar Coronation coinage.
On the 6th of May 2023, His Majesty King Charles III will be officially crowned in a magnificent ceremony, 240 days after his accession to the throne. To mark this historic day, HM Government of Gibraltar has approved a series of coins, which will be struck in London at Tower Mint the day the King is crowned.
Elliot Dawson, Managing Director of Tower Mint (the last and only mint in London, a few short miles from Westminster Abbey) welcomed Raphael Maklouf, sculptor of the 1985 UK Effigy of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and the new King Charles III Effigy for Gibraltar, along with Dame Joanna Lumley DBE FRGS, and other special guests to trial strike the Gibraltar coins. The trial strike took place ahead of the official ‘Struck On the Day’ ceremony, where all of the coins will be struck at the same time as His Majesty is officially crowned on the 6th of May.
The coins have been approved by both the Government of Gibraltar, and His Majesty, and consist of several designs that depict the passing of the crown from Her Late Majesty to His Majesty; Charles as the next head of the House of Windsor, and the iconic Coronation Crown Jewels, arguably the most famous jewels in the world. Each coin obverse features the Maklouf King Charles III Effigy, alongside the exclusive coronation privy mark of the Royal Cypher.
Joanna Lumley, who will be at the Coronation of His Majesty, minted the first coins for provenance, and once struck, Dame Joanna, Elliot, Raphael, and Greg Prosser, CEO of the London Mint Office (the exclusive marketing partner for Gibraltar coinage) signed off on the coins, ready to go into production on the day of the Coronation.
Lumley, who has met His Majesty many times before, said of Raphael’s Effigy, “isn’t that just enchanting?… I think it’s beautiful because it shows a sort of wisdom and gentleness of a mature and brilliant King.”
Elliot added, “we are extremely proud to be a part of such a historic occasion on the 6th of May where we will see the coronation of our new King, Charles III. Hosting Joanna, Wasfi, and Raphael at Tower, to mint and review the first of the coronation coins was a perfect way to mark such a momentous part of our history.”
One could say, it was Absolutely Fabulous, Darling! 🍾
