Beatrix Potter colour coins: will you be able to buy the new Peter Rabbit coin?
The Royal Mint has released new colourful Beatrix Potter coins featuring Peter Rabbit, but you could have a hard time getting hold of one.
The coins have proved so popular with collectors that the mint has already stopped taking sales today, adding that it is searching for duplicate orders and will post a sales update on its website on the morning of 5 April.
There’s currently a queue to access the Royal Mint's website, which it says lasts over an hour.
Tell me more about the coins
The mint struck 30,000 of the coloured-in Peter Rabbit coins, which are priced at £60. There are also standard silver coins, which are available for a tenner.
The mint says it will follow up the Peter Rabbit coin with versions featuring popular characters Mr. Jeremy Fisher, Tom Kitten and Benjamin Bunny, so you'll have a chance to buy more later in the year.
Photo credit: Royal Mint
Jeremy Fisher will be released on 5 June, Tom Kitten on 31 July and an uncirculated Benjamin Button coin will be released at some point in September.
Last year, the mint released four coins featuring Jemima Puddle-Duck, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, Squirrel Nutkin and another Peter Rabbit coin, which also proved hugely popular with collectors.
Photo credit: Royal Mint
Royal Mint’s coin designer Emma Noble was chosen to design the coins. She’s previously worked on coins commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation, Remembrance Sunday and King George I.
Anne Jessopp, director of commemorative coin at The Royal Mint, commented: “While we always knew that the Beatrix Potter characters would be a huge hit, the enormous popularity of the 2016 set exceeded everyone’s expectations."