Flora and Fauna Definitive Coins

Flora and Fauna Definitive Coins

The overarching theme of the new reverse designs centres around animals and plants from all four UK nations. Many of the animals that feature in the designs for this set are considered endangered, whilst some represent conservation success stories.

The definitive design for the UK’s largest circulating denomination features flora that symbolises the four nations of the UK – a rose for England, a daffodil for Wales, a thistle for Scotland and a shamrock representing Northern Ireland. Inspired by The King’s inaugural address on 9 September 2022 and personally approved by His Majesty, the edge inscription reads ‘IN SERVITIO OMNIUM’, which is Latin for ‘In the service of all’.

With more than 250 species of bee in the UK, including bumblebees, mason bees and mining bees, these industrious insects play a pivotal role in pollinating many plants and fruiting trees. They can be found all over the country, commonly in gardens, parks, woods, orchards and meadows, and now on the reverse of the definitive UK £1 coin.

A priority conservation species, the Atlantic salmon features on the 2023 definitive UK 50p coin. Wild populations are low due to factors like river pollution, habitat loss, river heating – due to a lack of tree cover and climate change – and overfishing. They can be found in very clean rivers in Scotland and Wales along with those in North and South West England.

Striking in their appearance, around 10% of the worldwide puffin population breeds along the UK’s coastline. Classed as a Red List species, the population is predicted to severely regress over the next 30 years, but there is hope for the puffin if action is taken to protect its nesting sites and food supply. The unmistakable seabird features on the reverse of the new definitive UK 20p coin.

Found in a very small part of Scotland, the Capercaillie is the world’s largest grouse and features on the reverse of the 2023 definitive UK 10p coin. After becoming extinct once before, in the mid eighteenth century, the species is now at risk of becoming extinct for the second time.

The definitive UK 5p coin displays a leaf taken from an oak tree, which itself is a national symbol of strength, wisdom and healing. Supporting more life than any other native tree species in the UK, the oak tree has a storied association with monarchies, as ancient kings of Britain and Roman Emperors wore crowns of oak leaves.

With 75% of its UK population found in areas of Scotland, the red squirrel can also be found in Northern Ireland, the Isle of Wight, Brownsea Island, Anglesey, Cumbria, Kielder Forest and Formby. Conservation efforts are currently in place to manage the population in the UK to avoid it becoming extinct. The red squirrel’s distinctive colouring blends perfectly with the reddish hue of the definitive UK 2p coin.

Small in stature, the hazel dormouse is a fitting presence on the definitive UK 1p coin. Mostly found in southern England in the UK, in places such as Sussex, Devon and Kent, the hazel dormouse population in the UK has halved since 2007. However, more than 1,000 have been reintroduced in 13 different counties across the country to reverse the hazel dormouse’s ongoing decline.