The Royal Mint launches a spellbinding collectable coin featuring Professor Albus Dumbledore

LLANTRISANT, Wales , Feb. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Royal Mint, official maker of UK coins, has today launched a collectable coin featuring the Professor Albus Dumbledore. The collectable coin is also the first one in The Royal Mint's spellbinding collection to have King Charles III's portrait appear on the obverse (heads) side of the coin with the first two coins Harry Potter and the Hogwarts Express featuring the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Royal Mint's Harry Potter collection will be one of a small number that will see a change of portrait during the series. The first two coins in the collection will feature the portrait of Her Late Majesty, and the final two coins will feature the official portrait of King Charles III. A change of portrait during the series is a rare occasion, making these set of coins highly collectable.  

The Professor Albus Dumbledore collectable coin is part of a larger Harry Potter collection celebrating 25 years since the novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling was first published in the UK in 1997 by Bloomsbury Publishing. Other coins in the collection feature the wizard himself Harry Potter, the Hogwarts Express and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on their own individual coin.

The Harry Potter collection has already received a popular response globally, with collectors and Harry Potter enthusiasts across 86 countries having bought at least one coin in the range. The Royal Mint has seen a strong response from younger families and millennials (28%) purchasing coins in the Harry Potter collection directly from the Mint, linking with those who grew up reading the series of books and finding nostalgia with each coin in the series.

Rebecca Morgan, Director of Collector Services at The Royal Mint said, "We are delighted to be continuing our spellbinding Harry Potter coin collection with Professor Albus Dumbledore featuring on his very own 1oz coin. The Royal Mint's Harry Potter coin collection has seen a popular response among collectors worldwide, not only for the books being a global phenomenon, but due to the collection being one of a small number that will see a change of portrait during the series. The coin featuring Professor Albus Dumbledore marks this change of portrait, with His Majesty King Charles III's official coin portrait now appearing for the first time in the series. This collection of coins serves as a permanent reminder of the fascinating transition from Britain's longest reigning monarch to His Majesty the King's first appearance on UK coinage."

Combining traditional minting techniques with technology, The Royal Mint's craftspeople have faithfully reproduced Jim Kay's illustrations in colour for the first time on official UK coins. Many of the coins in the range also feature an enchanting 'latent feature' which rotates in the light to reveal a lightning bolt and the number '25' to mark the anniversary year*.  An advanced picosecond laser was used by The Royal Mint to imprint the intricate design onto coin making tools to ensure accuracy, and create an additional, special effect to further enhance the coin's design.

Available on a range of denominations, all four coins have been modelled by Ffion Gwillim at The Royal Mint, which feature the work of Jim Kay, the artist who created the first fully illustrated edition of this Harry Potter story.

The coin series has been created in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing, The Blair Partnership and Warner Bros, Consumer Products. The third coin in the collection featuring Professor Albus Dumbledore is available to purchase from The Royal Mint's website with customers able to secure all four coins at once: Harry Potter | The Royal Mint

* This excludes the ¼ Oz denomination due to the limited size of the surface

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SOURCE The Royal Mint