The Royal Mint released the new coins to mark 100 years since the birth of Queen Elizabeth II. (Source: Royal Australian Mint)
Aussies have called out new coins featuring the late Queen Elizabeth II over what many people see as a rather unfortunate detail. The Royal Australian Mint has released brand new coins featuring the matriarch, but they’ve sparked conversation for all the wrong reasons.
The two coins, which were released to mark 100 years since the birth of the Queen, have been accused of looking nothing like the late monarch. Some Aussies said they couldn’t even tell who it was supposed to be, while others compared the portrait to Mrs Doubtfire and Dame Edna.
Despite the lukewarm response, a Mint spokesperson told Yahoo Finance the silver proof coin sold out in the ballot, contact centre and shop by mid-afternoon on release day on Thursday.
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“The palace-approved design honours not only the Crown, but the woman behind it – symbolically reflecting the many facets of Queen Elizabeth II’s life and legacy,” the spokesperson said.
“The design incorporates Her Majesty’s Royal Cypher, a stylised St Edward’s Crown and the Auxiliary Territorial Service emblem, acknowledging her wartime service and lifelong sense of duty.”
The spokesperson noted the Queen’s passions were woven throughout the coin, with motifs of a horse, corgi and references to art and theatre.
The Mint released a silver proof coin, which has sold out, and a 50 cent coin. (Source: Royal Australian Mint)
There are also floral elements around her portrait, including roses, the Queen’s favourite lily of the valley, myrtle and Australia’s golden wattle.
The spokesperson added the Mint was “honoured” to mark the centenary of the birth of the Queen with the latest release.
The portrait was done by Mint artist Aleksandra Stokic, with the Mint noting its coin images didn’t always capture the full beauty of a design once it was etched into metal.
It hasn’t stopped Aussies from roasting the coins on social media.
The Mint posted images of the commemorative coins to its social media ahead of the release and hundreds of Aussies chimed in with their thoughts.
“That’s got to be the most unpleasant portrait on a coin,” one joked.
“Is this what happens when the Queen is not around to approve the design?” another said.
“If I saw that face without the hairdo and pearls, [I] would never guess who it was meant to be,” a third added.
“Gawd save the Queen! Yikes!” one person commented.
Other Aussies said they wouldn’t be purchasing the coin, labelling it a “shocker”, while some joked the coins would be worth more if they got recalled.
But others were unfazed, with some sharing they were happy to have secured the coin in a ballot yesterday.
The Mint released two Queen Elizabeth II Centenary of Birth coins.
One is a $5 silver proof version for $190, with 5,000 of the coins minted. The other is a 50 cent coin for $20, with 30,000 of these coins minted.
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