New 10p coin enters circulation with King Charles portrait
The Royal Mint has released a new 10p coin featuring King Charles III and the endangered capercaillie bird into circulation for the first time in four years.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- The Royal Mint released a new 10p coin featuring King Charles III and the capercaillie.
- A total of 600,000 coins dated 2023 and 6.5 million dated 2026 have been sent to banks.
- The design by Mike Langman highlights the endangered status of the bird in Scotland.
- Coins featuring King Charles make up only about 1% of all UK circulating coins.
The Royal Mint has introduced a newly designed 10p coin into cash circulation across the United Kingdom, featuring the portrait of King Charles III on the obverse and the world's largest grouse, the capercaillie, on the reverse. Sufficient public demand for cash transactions has triggered the release of newly minted 10p pieces for the first time in approximately four years, showcasing a completely fresh artwork.
According to the Royal Mint, shoppers and collectors across the country should expect to discover these coins, which bear the production years of 2023 and 2026, in their everyday change. This redesign is part of a broader collection celebrating the King's passion for the natural world, originally unveiled in October 2023, which places native flora and fauna—ranging from bees to oak tree leaves—on the tails side of every denomination from the 1p up to the £2 coin.
Previously, circulating UK coins bearing the portrait of King Charles were restricted to the 5p, 50p, and £1 denominations. Because older coins featuring the late Queen Elizabeth II remain fully valid for use, new currency is struck strictly in response to fluctuating public demand. With 1.4 billion 10p coins already active in the economy, there had been no prior operational need for the Royal Mint to issue a fresh batch until now.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
To initiate the rollout, the mint distributed 600,000 coins dated 2023 and 6.5 million coins dated 2026 to banks and post offices nationwide. Even with this release, coins featuring King Charles III account for roughly 1% of the staggering 24.1 billion total coins currently in circulation throughout the UK, making the new pieces highly collectible for both experienced numismatists and casual coin hunters.
The capercaillie design stamped on the reverse is adapted from an illustration by artist Mike Langman, who previously collaborated with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The RSPB noted that the UK capercaillie population has shrunk dramatically, placing the species at risk of a second extinction event and landing it firmly on the UK conservation red list.
"We hope that by putting this extraordinary bird into millions of pockets and purses, we can spark a nationwide conversation about a species at real risk of vanishing from Britain forever."
RSPB spokesperson
Embedding native wildlife and conservation icons into everyday currency serves as a powerful educational tool, seamlessly bridging government minting practices with public environmental awareness. By turning ordinary pocket change into miniature canvases for endangered species, institutions can foster broader public discourse on biodiversity loss without relying solely on traditional campaigning methods.
Source: BBC Business
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