New Coin Designs For 2014

[Colin88]

And that's the RM all over. One BIG anniversary (WW1) - you'd think that would be enough on its own and rightly deserving of its own £2 commem. But no, they have to add another much smaller one, Trinity House, and give IT its own (undeserved) £2. Plus the Commonwealth Games on a 50p, and two distinctly naff £1 reverses compared to previous offerings.

And is the Kitchener recruiting poster REALLY the best way to mark WW1? With the vast, tragic and unnecessary loss of life, a simple anonymous grave from Normandy would be far more appropriate than that jingoistic piece of cr*p.

Absolutely agree...comedy coins. Designed with no sense of thought for the occasion or any gravitas....still, it ticks all the PC boxes..

...

[scott]

the pounds look like they fell out of the 90s.

and the roty design is nice, the french reused that one from the late 19th early 20th century, so how hard is it to reuse our old ones?

[Peckris]

the pounds look like they fell out of the 90s.

and the roty design is nice, the french reused that one from the late 19th early 20th century, so how hard is it to reuse our old ones?

Their one nice gesture is that there is going to be a 50p with the heraldic reverse that Ironside first submitted before the Britannia was eventually accepted.

[davidrj]

the pounds look like they fell out of the 90s.

and the roty design is nice, the french reused that one from the late 19th early 20th century, so how hard is it to reuse our old ones?

they re-used this one from the Directoire (1795-1801)

[AardHawk]

I like the simplicity of the pound coins. The lighthouse looks okay too. The fifty pence is another low relief piece of crap. I think that celebrating the start of a war that wiped out a generation of young men is in the worst possible taste. The Royal Mint has sunk to new lows. We only need a set commemorating the opening of the first concentration camp to see the Royal Mint in its true light.

[Nick]

I like the simplicity of the pound coins. The lighthouse looks okay too. The fifty pence is another low relief piece of crap. I think that celebrating the start of a war that wiped out a generation of young men is in the worst possible taste. The Royal Mint has sunk to new lows. We only need a set commemorating the opening of the first concentration camp to see the Royal Mint in its true light.

There's a big difference between celebrating and commemorating. Commemoration means to remember and show respect for, which seems ok to me.

[Peckris]

I like the simplicity of the pound coins. The lighthouse looks okay too. The fifty pence is another low relief piece of crap. I think that celebrating the start of a war that wiped out a generation of young men is in the worst possible taste. The Royal Mint has sunk to new lows. We only need a set commemorating the opening of the first concentration camp to see the Royal Mint in its true light.

There's a big difference between celebrating and commemorating. Commemoration means to remember and show respect for, which seems ok to me.

I think he's referring to the use of that Kitchener recruiting poster? Absolutely appalling and shoddy poor taste and lack of respect.

[Red Riley]

I have to say the Kitchener poster just reminds me of nothing more than Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and with Kitchener's reputation having been put through the wringer since, I just wonder whether the people who choose these designs have any sense of history, or any sense period. Surely what we should be commemorating is the waste, the utter futility of it all. This is just gymcrack nonsense and an insult to all those who were betrayed by its patriotic appeal and ended up gassed, maimed and shellshocked on the Western Front.

Edited January 3, 2014 by Red Riley

[davidrj]

This is just gymcrack nonsense and an insult to all those who were betrayed by its patriotic appeal and ended up gassed, maimed and shellshocked on the Western Front.

My Uncle Eddie was gassed, suffered disabling chronic bronchitis all his life (he died about 1960)

[Red Riley]

Many of us can say that which is why the whole subject has to be treated with sensitivity and just trotting out a hackneyed old image devalues their memory. For the record my father's uncle was killed in France during 1915 and is now buried in Étaples Military Cemetry and my mother's uncle was gassed at the Second Battle of Ypres. Captued by the Germans he was re-patriated via Switzerland as no longer a military threat. He lived until 1950, a broken man in chronic pain.

In one way though the world has moved on. My wife is part German and my kids have relatives on both sets of war memorials. I guess this isn't unusual. We should be commemorating all those who died in this senseless war not just those who came exclusively from one part of Europe or another.

[VickySilver]

Well said, and I could not agree more. To think that evidently the training of generals was basically rehash of classical battles and an update from the Napoleonic wars led to so vastly many more senseless deaths and maiming is so very sad.

[Geordie582]

Really can't comment on the output of the Royal Mint as I stopped collecting the modern rubbish a couple of years ago! Oh! I still spend it though. I'll stick with hammered.

[scottishmoney]

In one way though the world has moved on. My wife is part German and my kids have relatives on both sets of war memorials. I guess this isn't unusual. We should be commemorating all those who died in this senseless war not just those who came exclusively from one part of Europe or another.

My second great grandfather was from Germany, from Hamburg. Anyway he came over on the boat in 1871 because of the Franco-Prussian war and his father didn't want to lose anymore sons to the Prussian war machine. Fate would have it that some 46 years later he would send his sons off in the US army to fight what he termed "Prussian-Junker militarism", my uncle mentioned above was one of his sons. I have a newspaper article from 1917 where my great great grandfather was mentioned as sending his sons to fight the Kaiser - the editor thought his accent was still heavily German enough to note about it in the article. With WWI our family lost all contact with the family back in Hamburg and didn't re-establish contact until 1997. We are lucky in one respect, the house where my great great grandfather was born is still there.

And in the end you will realise that all wars are this - Rich man's war, poor mans fight.

[Coinery]

I don't want to in any way disrespect any of the above posts, as it's obvious that a lot of sensitive, interesting life-experiences, and personal sacrifices have been made.

I just didn't know where else to share a great embarrassment with you...for the very first time in my life I asked if they had any unopened bags in the post office!

[Sword]

I think it would have been better if the RM waited until 2018 and commenorate the end of the war instead. Apparently, they are going to issue coins with WWI themes for the next 4 years.

[Peckris]

We should all complain directly to the RM about their crass insensitivity.

[Sword]

There was an article in the daily mail discussing the coin.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2531850/Royal-Mint-unveils-2-coin-featuring-famous-image-Lord-Kitchener-commemorate-100th-anniversary-World-War-One.html

[jaggy]

There was an article in the daily mail discussing the coin.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2531850/Royal-Mint-unveils-2-coin-featuring-famous-image-Lord-Kitchener-commemorate-100th-anniversary-World-War-One.html

I read the article.

But I think that, if we are commemorating the sacrifice of our troops in WW1, then a focus for 2014 should be the sacrifice of the BEF at Mons, Le Cateau, the Aisne and Ypres rather than a recruiting posters supposedly representing a call to arms.

My grandfather was in the reserve in 1914. As a member of the Royal Garrison Artillery, he arrived in France in February 1915 and stayed there until he was demobilised in February of 1919. Both his brothers also served with the youngest contracting TB from which he died in 1921.

I have his medals in my possession (including his Imperial Service Medal) and have been able to access his medal card via Ancestry.

[Sword]

There was an article in the daily mail discussing the coin.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2531850/Royal-Mint-unveils-2-coin-featuring-famous-image-Lord-Kitchener-commemorate-100th-anniversary-World-War-One.html

I read the article.

But I think that, if we are commemorating the sacrifice of our troops in WW1, then a focus for 2014 should be the sacrifice of the BEF at Mons, Le Cateau, the Aisne and Ypres rather than a recruiting posters supposedly representing a call to arms.

My grandfather was in the reserve in 1914. As a member of the Royal Garrison Artillery, he arrived in France in February 1915 and stayed there until he was demobilised in February of 1919. Both his brothers also served with the youngest contracting TB from which he died in 1921.

I have his medals in my possession (including his Imperial Service Medal) and have been able to access his medal card via Ancestry.

I agree that images highlighting the waste of life in battles, suffering, heroism in the field would be a lot more appropriate than the Kitchener poster.

[ChKy]

Following this topic I would like to introduce you that movie:

http://viooz.co/movies/15060-joyeux-noel-2005.html (try several times, especially in the evening the server is very busy)

That movie should be shown in television throughout Europe every christmas eve!!!

[Peckris]

Following this topic I would like to introduce you that movie:

http://viooz.co/movies/15060-joyeux-noel-2005.html (try several times, especially in the evening the server is very busy)

That movie should be shown in television throughout Europe every christmas eve!!!

Wow, I've never been able to watch an entire movie outside iPlayer or suchlike. I don't have time right now, but I'll certainly watch it later. Thanks ChKy, merci!

[ChKy]

Adeste fideles laeti triumphantes,
Venite, venite in Bethlehem.
Natum videte Regem angelorum.
Venite adoremus, venite adoremus
Dominum.

That is my favorite scene in that movie

[Phil FK]

I quite like the Kitchener coin. Not keen on the rest though.

I also support him being on the coin. No public characters come up squeaky clean but they are part of our history and so we shouldn’t shy away from them. If they stimulate debate then all the better. The Kitchener image is iconic and was everywhere 100 years ago so is relevant.

Whatever your views on WW1 from 100 years distant the view at the time was that we were under a real and serious threat. Kitchener played a big part in mobilising the nation against that and was himself a casualty of the war.

[Peckris]

I quite like the Kitchener coin. Not keen on the rest though.

I also support him being on the coin. No public characters come up squeaky clean but they are part of our history and so we shouldn’t shy away from them. If they stimulate debate then all the better. The Kitchener image is iconic and was everywhere 100 years ago so is relevant.

Whatever your views on WW1 from 100 years distant the view at the time was that we were under a real and serious threat. Kitchener played a big part in mobilising the nation against that and was himself a casualty of the war.

Yes, but we know different now, than all the population that was fed blatant propaganda at the outset of the war. NOW we know that millions died in vain in a futile titanic struggle between Empires, and it honours absolutely no-one, not even Kitchener, that every death in WW1 is now "commemorated" by that now ridiculed and risible poster. As you say, 100 years have passed, and we should be taking a respectful stand as the Queen does every November 11th at the Cenotaph. Suppose instead of a red poppy she and all the people there, wore T Shirts carrying that poster? The nation would be in uproar and rightfully so.

[Accumulator]

I quite like the Kitchener coin. Not keen on the rest though.

I also support him being on the coin. No public characters come up squeaky clean but they are part of our history and so we shouldn’t shy away from them. If they stimulate debate then all the better. The Kitchener image is iconic and was everywhere 100 years ago so is relevant.

Whatever your views on WW1 from 100 years distant the view at the time was that we were under a real and serious threat. Kitchener played a big part in mobilising the nation against that and was himself a casualty of the war.

Yes, but we know different now, than all the population that was fed blatant propaganda at the outset of the war. NOW we know that millions died in vain in a futile titanic struggle between Empires, and it honours absolutely no-one, not even Kitchener, that every death in WW1 is now "commemorated" by that now ridiculed and risible poster. As you say, 100 years have passed, and we should be taking a respectful stand as the Queen does every November 11th at the Cenotaph. Suppose instead of a red poppy she and all the people there, wore T Shirts carrying that poster? The nation would be in uproar and rightfully so.

I agree with your sentiment Peckris though I've read recently that the famous Kitchener 'poster' was never actually a poster and wasn't used for recruiting before or during WW1. The RM seem to be have jumped aboard that popular myth rather than celebrate the real lives that were lost.