For the first time in his reign, King Charles III is being seen on a 5p piece and people living in eight places in the UK have got a much bigger chances of seeing this new coin than others.
The designs on the first coins of the reign of King Charles were inspired by Britain’s flora and fauna and the 5p features oak leaves, long a symbol associated with the Monarchy.
To underline that link, the Royal Mint has allocated special quantities to Post Offices that have ‘oak’ in their name which means that eight locations in the UK are more likely to see the coin in their change.
Those places include one with a very royal name – the Jubilee Oak Post Office in Braintree in Essex. Other locations include County Oak in Brighton, Oaktree Road Post Office in Southampton and Four Oaks in Sutton Coldfield.
The Oaks Post Office in Dungannon, County Tyrone is also on the list alongside Larkhall Post Office in Cadzows Oaks in Hamilton. Allerton Oaks in Liverpool also get a special allocation at the Allerton Road Post Office. The final place on the list is Newtown Post Office in Brimmon Oak in Pows.
The new 5p was actually minted in 2023 but is only being released now following increased demand for the coin which is among the most popular for special charity events.
Churches and community organisations have increasingly asked people to collect and donate 5p coins in recent years to raise funds by bringing them along to make trails of money or fill giant jars to raise funds.
This new 5p is the first fresh design of the coin in almost 20 years – the last was released in 2008.
As it headed out into circulation, Rebecca Morgan who is Director of Commemorative Coin at the Royal Mint said ‘‘it is rare for the 5p design to change…the oak leaf design beautifully represents the deep connection between our monarchy and the natural world, reflecting King Charles III’s lifelong dedication to environmental conservation.”
This is the third coin bearing the image of King Charles III to enter circulation following the 50p and £1.
When he became King, Charles III said he only wanted new money made and circulated when it was needed, to avoid waste. All money bearing the image of Queen Elizabeth II remains legal tender. There are far more of those coins in circulation – Royal Mint estimates that only 0.2% of UK coinage bears the image of The King.
