The Royal Mint has unveiled a new set of coloured 50p coins featuring characters from Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit series.
Four new designs with images of Peter Rabbit, Jeremy Fisher, Tom Kitten and Benjamin Bunny dressed in their original outfits were revealed on Monday.
The 50p coins have been produced in a hand-painted style as part of the Beatrix Potter collection which was launched by the Royal Mint just 12 months ago to celebrate the author’s 150th anniversary.
The Peter Rabbit coin in the set went on sale on the Royal Mint website on Monday with the others set to follow throughout the year. Uncoloured regular 50p coins featuring the designs will also be released into general circulation.
The original set unveiled last year featured images of Potter characters Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck, Squirrel Nutkin and Mrs Tiggywinkle. The coloured range sold out within days from the Royal Mint website.
The new coins were created by Royal Mint designer Emma Noble, who worked on the 2016 set and pieces commemorating the Diamond Jubilee and Remembrance Sunday.
Anne Jessopp, Director of Commemorative Coin at The Royal Mint commented: “While we always knew that the Beatrix Potter characters would be a huge hit, the enormous popularity of the 2016 set exceeded everyone’s expectations.
“The coins sold out almost instantly as people raced to collect a complete set of the four friends. We’re delighted to be able to present another group of her exquisite characters, giving them a new lease of life on our specially-designed coloured commemorative coins.”
Potter's children's book The Tale Of Peter Rabbit, the first to feature the character, was an instant success after being picked up in 1902 by British children's publisher Frederick Warne & Co. He went on to appear in five more books by the author who became linked with the Lake District.
Potter died in 1943 aged 77.
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