The Royal Mint: Check out this big coin!
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Check out this humongous coin!
The Royal Mint, which makes all our pennies and pounds in the UK, has produced a 拢5000 coin.
It weighs an impressive five kilos and is worth an almighty 拢300,000.
Cool coin fact!
There used to be serious punishments for checks on coins that didn't go so well.
In 1318, the The Master of the Mint went to prison for six weeks when the quality of his coins came under fire.
The Goldsmiths' Company in London will be testing the gold coin in a process known as 'Trial of the Pyx' to check its quality. The tradition has been carried out since 1248.
Samples of some of the thousands of coins created by The Royal Mint over the last year are chosen for the trial. This will be the first time giant coins have been included in the process.
"Every year coins produced by The Royal Mint go to the Trial of the Pyx, a ceremony which tests and confirms the quality and accuracy of each coin and is something which The Royal Mint prides itself on," said Graeme Smith, Queen's Assay Master at The Royal Mint.
The Royal Mint has also created a 拢2,000 coin. It weighs two kilos and is worth nearly 拢120,000.
Both coins feature a design known as "Una and the Lion". The idea for the design was thought up by William Wyon in 1839 who was a former chief engraver for the Royal Mint.
The coin features the "Una and the Lion" design
The coins have been created for a new Great Engravers series. It celebrates some of the most influential people who have worked on British coinage.
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