The Royal Mint has revealed its designs for the new face of the UK currency. Designed by 26 year old, Matthew Dent.

Matthew Dent, 26, from North Wales, holds Brtain's new one pound coin at the Tower of London, Britain, 02 April 2008. Dent will have his work stamped on billions of coins for decades to come. Dent's winning entry in a public competition to design the first new British coin series for nearly 40 years was unveiled today. His designs, which feature parts of the royal coat of arms, have been picked to feature on the 'reverse' of the 1pence through to the one pound coin. They will partner the familiar Queen's head image on the other side. EPA/ANDY RAIN via m&c








The new designs have been chosen via an open competition which was widely publicised in the national media in August 2005 and attracted 4,000 entries. The winning designer is 26-year-old Matthew Dent, originally from Bangor who now lives and works in London as a graphic designer.

After exploring a number of different options, Matthew Dent finally developed the heraldic theme, taking the greatest heraldic device ever used on coinage – the Royal Arms.

The New Coin Designs in FormationAs you can see in the image to the right, the Shield of the Royal Arms has been given a contemporary treatment and its whole has been cleverly split among all six denominations from the 1p to the 50p, with the £1 coin displaying the heraldic element in its entirety. This is the first time that a single design has been used across a range of United Kingdom coins.

The new designs will enter circulation gradually throughout the year. It is normal practice for banks to order coins from the Royal Mint to satisfy public demand, which fluctuates over the course of the year. The current coin designs will remain in circulation and as legal tender for the foreseeable future.

To mark this major numismatic milestone, the Royal Mint is offering a range of magnificent limited-edition collections produced to Proof quality.