A new 10p coin featuring King Charles III and an endangered grouse has entered circulation across Britain, The Royal Mint announced.
Just over seven million of the coins are being released to banks and post offices nationwide, marking the first time in around four years that newly minted 10p coins have entered general circulation.
The Royal Mint confirmed that 600,000 of the coins are dated 2023, while 6.5 million carry the date 2026. The 2023 version will be far rarer and could become a collectible.
The coins were dated and minted in October 2023 and in 2026, and are being released in response to increased demand for the 10p denomination.
Coin design and capercaillie illustration
The new 10p coin features the effigy of King Charles III on the front, while the reverse side displays the capercaillie, the world's largest grouse. The bird is found in a small part of Scotland and is at risk of becoming extinct.
The depiction of the capercaillie on the coin was based on an illustration by artist Mike Langman, who previously worked for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
The design forms part of a wider redesign of British currency, where the tails side of every newly minted coin from the 1p to the £2 features the country's flora and fauna, ranging from bees to an oak tree leaf.
Rebecca Morgan, a director at The Royal Mint, based at Llantrisant, South Wales, said the coin highlights the bird's precarious population. "It's a stark reminder that more of these coins will enter circulation than there are capercaillies left in the wild," Morgan said.
"We hope that by putting this extraordinary bird into millions of pockets and purses, we can spark a nationwide conversation about a species at real risk of vanishing from Britain forever," she added.
King Charles coinage in circulation
The 10p piece is the fourth denomination bearing the portrait of King Charles III to enter circulation, following the introduction of the 5p, 50p and £1 coins since 2022.
There are currently 24.142 billion coins in circulation across Britain, with coins featuring King Charles III comprising just 1 per cent of that total. Old coins bearing the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II remain legal tender and can still be used.
The Royal Mint has encouraged members of the public to check their change over the coming weeks as the new 10p coins begin appearing in cash registers and pockets. A selection of the new coins will also be available at tills inside the Royal Mint Experience, the Mint's visitor attraction in South Wales.
