Published 16:07 IST, December 22nd 2019
UK government to mint 1 million commemorative Brexit coins for a third time
The UK Government has ordered the minting of 1 million commemorative Brexit coins with the new Brexit departure date of January 31; they will be worth 50p
After Boris Johnson's landslide win against Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party in the British general election, Britain has decided to start minting commemorative Brexit 50p coins once again. Only a few months ago after the Brexit delay, the Royal Mint melted down 1 million of the celebratory coins.
Third attempt at minting the coins
This latest attempt will be the third time that the British Government is trying to mint the coins. The failure to pass a European Union withdrawal bill in March and October were the first and second attempt respectively. Boris Johnson and the Conservative parties landslide victory in the elections has handed Johnson a strong mandate for leaving the EU.
This was followed by a resounding victory in the House of Commons on December 20 for the Prime Minister's revised Brexit deal. Brexit is all set to begin on January 31. The Queen of England issued the proclamation that new gold' silver and nickel coins will be minted. The coins will be worth 50p.
The idea of comparative coins was first proposed by Tory MP Craig Mackinlay. The idea then reached the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick and was first approved by former chancellor Philip Hammond who initially authorised 10,000 coins to be minted for the first Brexit date of March 29.
The initial batch of 1 million coins is set to be followed by at least 7 million more over the course of the next year. According to reports, the Government expects 3 million coins to be in circulation by February 2020. By 2021 that figure is expected to rise to 10 million. The former EU ambassador Lord Hannay of Chiswick had put in the official request to try and find out the cost of the failed venture in October, but the government had denied the request citing that the information is economically sensitive.
Updated 16:50 IST, December 22nd 2019