King Charles to Replace Queen Elizabeth on Bank Notes and Coins

“It may have a practical use in the fact that it obviously marks a difference from the previous reign,” said Nigel Fletcher, a teaching fellow at King’s College London. Mr. Fletcher said that after new images of King Charles were created, molds and casts would be produced to make the currency.

Bills are a different matter. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth became the first monarch to appear on bank notes, meaning there is no convention for the direction the monarch faces on bills. There are more than 4.7 billion Bank of England currency notes in circulation.

With the nation in mourning, it’s not clear when any changes will be made.

The process of rolling out the new currency will not “happen overnight,” said Ethan Ilzetzki, an associate professor at the London School of Economics.

Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, said in a statement Thursday that an announcement would not be made until the period of mourning was over.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/world/europe/king-charles-bank-notes-coins-currency.html