Alfred the Great - Royal Mint 9am 22nd April

[NewCoins]

Looks like the Royal Mint has an Alfred the great coin on sale today.

Don't think its for me personally, but will take a better look when there are some proper pictures.

 

Edited April 22, 2021 by NewCoins

[Paul]

  

[Paul]

 it is a 'little' King Canute'y looking to me - abstract, if you like

the Canute has done well past few years  

[ilovesilverireallydo]

Looks more like an alien than Canute

[TheMadKing]

[sovereignsteve]

I quite liked the Canute and this one is clearly meant to be in the same vein.

A miss I feel, it's hideous. Agree with ILSIRD, looks like an alien, and what's that strange phallic thing appearing in shot at 7 o'clock? (my wife spotted this BTW😁)

[Fivepoundfred]

This is Alfred the terrible, will not be going into my collection. The mint had a good run on £5 designs for a while but looks as if that's come to an end !

[kena]

This is almost bad as the Mr. Men\Little Miss series of coins.

Looks like the person who designed the reverse never saw the statue of him in Wantage (which is 8 miles north of where I live).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Alfred_the_Great,_Wantage

 

[goldhunter]

sold out everywhere.

Low mintage will rescue this coin

[LawrenceChard]

3 hours ago, NewCoins said:

Looks like the Royal Mint has an Alfred the great coin on sale today.

Don't think its for me personally, but will take a better look when there are some proper pictures.

 

Here is a mock-up we prepared earlier, using ESP:

For those who don't know, it is modelled on the "Alfred Jewel".

[LawrenceChard]

3 hours ago, Paul said:

 it is a 'little' King Canute'y looking to me - abstract, if you like

the Canute has done well past few years  

I read a Jeremy Clarkson article at weekend, in which he was discussion nicknames. He mentioned Cnut the Anagram.

I suspected the Royal Mint would use the anglicised and sanitised spelling "Canute" rather than the original Norse Cnut, probably to avoid mis-spelling causing offence. It is quite likely that an (American based) spellchecker would suggest a taboo alternative.

[LawrenceChard]

2 hours ago, ilovesilverireallydo said:

Looks more like an alien than Canute

Just a reminder how coin design has progressed in 1000 years.

[LawrenceChard]

1 hour ago, kena said:

This is almost bad as the Mr. Men\Little Miss series of coins.

Looks like the person who designed the reverse never saw the statue of him in Wantage (which is 8 miles north of where I live).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Alfred_the_Great,_Wantage

 

Could you provide a close-up?

Particularly of his head and shoulders, so we can compare.

[LawrenceChard]

1 hour ago, sovereignsteve said:

I quite liked the Canute and this one is clearly meant to be in the same vein.

A miss I feel, it's hideous. Agree with ILSIRD, looks like an alien, and what's that strange phallic thing appearing in shot at 7 o'clock? (my wife spotted this BTW😁)

Why do you think they called him "the Great"! 🙂

[goldhunter]

10 minutes ago, LawrenceChard said:

Why do you think they called him "the Great"! 🙂

cos he liked cheese?

[Rll1288]

I actually like it... based on the Alfred Jewel which.. for me.. is aligned to historical significance.... low mintage will make this a good bet me thinks... mind you I liked the Mr Men as well haha

[Gordy]

NO COMMENT.... I CAN'T.... 🤪

[Paul]

gold £5 sold out on mintage of 170

[Chrisplym]

Not for me either. The design is too basic and not appealing. 

The Peter Rabbit release on Monday will be interesting.

[blindedbythelight]

Reminds me of the alien from the autopsy story

[jultorsk]

Didn't buy but was curious enough to go and read the fascinating story of Alfred; and to look up the Jewel. What an extraordinary treasure. Happy to have learned something new today.

 

[Edeline]

I get what they were going for, and the original Alfred jewel is magnificent, but the design just doesn't transfer well on a modern coin. It's just too much of a contrast.  If they were to do a Kings and Queens range in a similar vein to the Myths and Legends with realistic figures, that would be a winner.  Or maybe produce a more stylised coin that would work better with the artwork on the Alfred jewel...maybe something more obviously Anglo-Saxon looking?  This  design feels likes it's got one foot in the past and one in modernity, but it doesn't work for me.

[westminstrel]

What a fascinating story. They should’ve done a coloured version in silver proof to match it - what a missed opportunity! 

[NewCoins]

13 hours ago, Chrisplym said:

Not for me either. The design is too basic and not appealing. 

The Peter Rabbit release on Monday will be interesting.

What are your thoughts?

[Chrisplym]

I bought a few of the last Peter Rabbit release in the silver proof format due to the low mintage. I still have these. I have to be honest, I thought that was going to be the final Peter Rabbit release. I will most probably buy more of this new release depending upon mintage and design. What about you?