Yahoo Finance New £5 coin minted to mark Prince Philip's retirement set to become collector favourite
A new £5 coin marking the retirement of the Duke of Edinburgh could become one of the most collectable ever minted.
The coin – released today – is part of a set produced by the Royal Mint to celebrate Prince Philip finally stepping back from public life at the age of 96 and more than 70 years service.
Collectors can order the £5 ‘Brilliant Uncirculated’ coin for £13. The design features one of the last commissions by highly respected designer Thomas ‘Humphrey’ Paget.
The coin table has been worked on by Royal Mint coin designer Lee R. Jones to include a new inscription. It reads ‘NON SIBI SED PATRIAE’ in Latin, which means ‘Not for himself but for his country’.
A similar £5 coin minted to mark Philip’s 90th birthday in 2011 has become highly sought after by collectors.
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Just under 19,000 of those coins were produced, making them quite rare and pushing up the original £9.99 price to above £60 on sites such as eBay.
The first of the newest coin was actually struck by Philip’s eldest son, Charles, the Prince of Wales, at the Mint earlier this year.
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Philip served as President of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee from 1952 until 1999, an unbroken period of 47 years.
Every UK coin and medal produced by Mint over this time, including four portraits of The Queen, has been discussed and approved by the committee he chaired.
Commenting on the decision to mark his retirement with a new coin, the Mint said: “After a short but distinguished naval career, Prince Philip found a new purpose in life as a loyal consort to Her Majesty The Queen.
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“For eight decades he has also devoted himself to hundreds of different causes, to inspiring young people, championing British design and engineering and campaigning tirelessly to protect the environment.”
Earlier this week, the Mint released a new coloured 50p coin featuring Tom Kitten, from Beatrix Potter books, which is also expected to sell out quickly.
Demand for other coins in the Potter series crashed the Mint’s site when they were revealed in April.
