Royal Mint New Coins
Call it the attack of the art critics, and this time the foe isn’t just found in Woking, Surrey, in England.
The reverse design for a new £2 coin marking the life and work of science fiction author H.G. Wells is under attack on social media and in online fan forums because a couple of obvious elements are inconsistent with the famed author’s stories.
The coin features three elements that signify Wells’ better-known works: The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, and The Invisible Man.
American artist Chris Costello designed the coin, which the Royal Mint unveiled Jan. 4 as part of its suite of five commemorative designs for 2021. His design shows a four-legged tripod, the fighting machine used by Martians in the 1898 Wells classic The War of the Worlds.
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Incredulous critics seized on the difference — a tripod by definition has three legs — to call out the design.
Twitter user @HolBolDoArt tweeted: “Now, as someone who particularly likes one of his very famous stories, can I just note that the big walking machine on the coin has four legs?
“Four legs.
“The man famous for creating the martian TRIpod.
“FOUR
“LEGS
“??????”
In addition to the kerfuffle over the four-legged tripod, fans took issue with the missing facial bandages and the hat style for the star character in Wells’ 1897 work The Invisible Man.
Adam Roberts noted: “Several people have tweeted this into my timeline, so I might add: not only did Wells’ Tripods have *three* legs, Griffin, his invisible man, does not wear a top hat (he arrives at Iping, face bandaged under a “wide-brimmed hat”). So it’s two for two.”
The coin marks the 75th anniversary of the death of H.G Wells, who is “renowned for his ability to bring science fiction to life through his work, earning him nicknames such as the ‘father of science fiction,’” according to the Royal Mint.
The coin design “captures iconic images from Well’s[sic] work, including The War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man,” the Royal Mint said, in its statement.
As Tor.com (a site dedicated to science fiction fans) reports, attributing its information to the Royal Mint’s website page for the £2 coin, designer Chris Costello wrote he “was inspired by vintage H.G. Wells book covers and movie posters. Who can forget the spine-chilling jellyfish-like robots conceived in the promotions for The War of the Worlds? That creature was my favourite and I created my own interpretation of it that would take advantage of the circular canvas and appear to climb out of the composition.”
The Royal Mint page was then apparently changed, to reflect an artist statement Costello released in reaction to the criticism.
Costello’s statement stressed his desire to “create something original and contemporary. My design takes inspiration from a variety of machines featured in the book—including tripods and the handling machines which have five jointed legs and multiple appendages.”
The four-legged tripod, then, appears to be a compromise between the three-legged and five-legged objects.
Regarding the hat, Costello said “We discussed several styles of hats for The Invisible Man, including the wide-brimmed hat mentioned in his book, and determined that the top-hat was easily recognized as Victorian era in contrast to the futuristic machine in the background. Clearly distinguishing and connecting past and future, the visuals allude to The Time Machine represented by the Roman numeral clock.”
The resulting design “combines multiple stories into one stylized and unified composition that is emblematic of all of H.G. Well’s work and fits the unique canvas of a coin,” according to Costello.
Whether collectors take issue with the design, or still desire to commemorate the life of the famous author, the coin is only available as part of various annual sets (please see related story, page 20).
Individual collector options and circulating versions are due for later release in 2021. Any circulating coins will be struck to meet demand for the denomination, and not for a specific design, the Royal Mint has stressed in recent years.
Brilliant Uncirculated and Proof base metal versions are joined by Proof silver, Proof silver piedfort (double thick) and Proof gold versions.
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The new commemorative coins are available in The Royal Mint’s ‘Annual Set’, with each of the coins featuring a design by a commissioned artist. The full list of coins in the annual set is:
- The 95th Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen on a £5
- 250th Anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott on a £2
- The life and work of John Logie Baird on a 50p
- The 50th Anniversary of Decimal Day 2021 on a 50p
- The life and work of H.G. Wells 2021 on a £2
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Her Majesty The Queen’s 95th birthday
This special £5 coin celebrates a remarkable milestone, making Queen Elizabeth II the first British monarch to reach such a grand age.
During her reign The Royal Mint has created five different effigies of Her Majesty The Queen documenting her reign, and she resides on every British coin in circulation.
50th anniversary of Decimalisation
This landmark moment introduced the coins we use today, and was Britain’s biggest peacetime operation. It marks a special anniversary in The Royal Mint’s own 1,100-year history and has been commemorated on a 50p coin.
The Royal Mint Uk
To celebrate this momentous occasion, the Decimal Day 50p coin features the second effigy of Her Majesty The Queen on its obverse - this portrait was created by Arnold Machin RA for decimalisation to mark the transition and help people identify the new coinage.
The reverse design was created by Royal Mint employee Dominique Evans. This coin featuring the Queen’s second effigy is only available as part of the annual set.
250th anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott
Royal Mint Coins Uk
Recognised as one of the most influential Scots in history, Sir Walter Scott is renowned for his contribution to literature with a number of novels and poems, many of which remain literary classics to this day.
250 years on from his birth, Scott’s incredible literary legacy will be commemorated £2 coin.
75th anniversary of the death of John Logie Baird
A prolific inventor and famous for his early prototypes of television, John Logie Baird’s work changed society and entertainment around the world.
The Royal Mint is commemorating the 75th anniversary of the death of John Logie Baird on a commemorative 50p coin which celebrates the inventor and his creations.
75th anniversary of the death of H.G Wells
Best known for science fiction novels such as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds, H.G Wells is renowned for his ability to bring science fiction to life through his work, earning him nicknames such as the ‘father of science fiction’.
Seventy-five years on from his death, The Royal Mint celebrates the life and work of H.G Wells on a commemorative coin with a design that captures iconic images from Well’s work, including The War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man.
Royal Mint New Coins For 2021
The commemorative set will be available to purchase from www.royalmint.com in a range of precious metal and base proof finishes, prices start from £30.