In 2005, The Royal Mint advertised the opportunity to redesign the reverses of UK circulating coinage for the first time in almost 40 years.

The competition was an opportunity to tackle the set of six coins holistically and to use a single image spread over the various denominations. The design features the shield of the Royal Arms; an emblem representative of the United Kingdom.

A sculptor was employed to realize the design in 3D. From this point trial pieces were produced before the real things were released into circulation in 2008. You now see them on a daily basis in your change throughout the UK.

The designs collected an IACA award and D&AD Black Pencil.