16 Jun 2014

As the nation prepares to celebrate His Royal Highness, Prince George of Cambridge’s first birthday, The Royal Mint announces that in honour of the future monarch they will be striking a commemorative sterling silver £5 coin bearing the heraldic Royal Arms design.

This is the first time that new United Kingdom coins have been produced to mark the first birthday of a member of the Royal family. The design of the coins has been approved by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Her Majesty the Queen and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and will be restricted to a limited mintage of just 7,500 coins.

The coin’s Royal Arms design was originally created for Prince George’s great-grandmother, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, when it was approved for use on £5 coins to be struck during her reign. The design echoes heraldic elements that have been seen on coinage for more than 300 years, but has only actually featured once on coinage since the Queen’s Coronation in 1953, on a £5 coin struck for the British Exhibition in New York in 1960.

For the birth of Prince George on 22 July 2013 The Royal Mint struck a limited number of 10,000 official UK sterling silver £5 coins to mark the occasion, which were so popular that they sold out within days. This heraldic-themed £5 coin minted in honour of his first birthday is expected to be equally sought-after.

Shane Bissett, Director of Commemorative Coin and Bullion at The Royal Mint said: “As Prince George of Cambridge reaches the significant milestone of turning one year old, we felt there could be no more fitting design to mark the first birthday of our future king than the Royal Arms - the arms of the monarch, minted in honour of the future heir to the throne.

“The choice of a silver coin is significant too as the precious metal  is closely associated with new born babies, as crossing the palm of a new born baby with silver is a way to wish them wealth and good health throughout their life, whilst the £5 coin is a favourite for royal celebrations”.

The official UK £5 coin commemorating the first birthday of HRH Prince George of Cambridge is available now to pre-order from the Royal Mint’s website www.royalmint.com and is priced at £80.