The Royal Mint has unveiled its latest Christmas collection as it begins to take orders for the busiest time of year. One of the flagship new coins available in the UK features The Gruffalo’s Child, the best-selling children’s book by Julia Donaldson, which was adapted into a short film that aired on BBC One on Christmas Day.
With a voice cast including the likes of Robbie Coltrane, Helena Bonham Carter, James Corden, and Rob Brydon, the adaptation was nominated for the British Academy Children’s Award for Animation in 2012. The Royal Mint has used an illustration from Axel Scheffler, who worked with Julia Donaldson on the original picture book.
The coin shows the titular Gruffalo child talking to a mouse in a snowy landscape. On the back, you’ll find the profile of King Charles III, facing to the left as has long been tradition on British coinage.
Axel Scheffler, who lives in Richmond, has spoken exclusively to The Royal Mint about twenty years since the publication of The Gruffalo’s Child, looking back on how he developed the characters from Julia Donaldson’s words and created the classic look for the children’s book, which has sold over 24 million copies worldwide.
But while this children’s classic is the flagship product for Christmas 2024, there’s no shortage of other gift ideas from The Royal Mint.
As part of its latest collection, The Royal Mint has designed a range of colour-printed Brilliant Uncirculated coins, covering a variety of commemorative themes, with characters from franchises like Star Wars, James Bond, and Harry Potter available. Outside of the world of fiction, prominent historical figures, like Winston Churchill, can also be bought for under £25.
For those who don’t know, The Royal Mint is the official manufacturer of all British coins. Located in Llantrisant, Wales, it’s owned by His Majesty’s Treasury and is under an exclusive contract to supply the nation’s coinage.
Since 2018, faced with the steady decline of cash in favour of contactless card payments and tap-to-pay solutions on smartphones, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, the company pivoted and started to invest in precious metals, historic coins, and other collectibles.
The Royal Mint has divided its expansive collection of coins, jewellery, and gifts into price categories and Stocker Filler ideas — making it easier than ever before to shop for Christmas gifts from its wide-ranging collection
THE ROYAL MINT
The shake-up to its core business has worked — with an operating profit of £12.7 million returned in 2021. With business booming again, The Royal Mint started to build a new manufacturing plant in South Wales to recover precious metals from electronic waste, like smartphones and other modern electronics.
It’s now using this sustainably sourced gold in a new jewellery division – known as 886, by The Royal Mint – named in celebration of its symbolic founding date. As well as limited edition runs, commemorative coins, and jewellery, The Royal Mint hopes to appeal to newcomers and collectors alike.
