The Royal Mint, the Original Maker of UK coins, has today launched a commemorative coin collection to celebrate 50 years of fun with some of the Mr. Men Little Miss characters.
The Mr. Men Little Miss commemorative coin collection features Mr Happy, Little Miss Sunshine, and Little Miss Giggles with Mr Strong on a £5 crown. All three coin designs have been created exclusively by Adam Hargreaves, son of creator Roger Hargreaves, to celebrate the characters’ 50th anniversary. The Brilliant Uncirculated edition of the coin features the latest colour printing techniques showcasing the Mr. Men Little Miss characters in vivid colour – capturing their vibrant personalities. The Royal Mint will also be hiding 50 golden Mr Tickle tickets amongst all three of the colour brilliant uncirculated commemorative coins. Every customer that finds a gold Mr Tickle ticket will be entitled to a Mr Men and Little Miss prize bundle.
Clare Maclennan, Divisional Director of Commemorative Coin at The Royal Mint spoke with Adam Hargreaves in a zoom call, where they discussed the designs and characters, the excitement around Mr. Men Little Miss turning 50 and what steps The Royal Mint takes to produce a coin that celebrates an occasion such as this.
Clare comments, “Each year we celebrate British icons, anniversaries and moments from history on commemorative coins, and this is a fun new addition to the collection. With this year marking the 50th anniversary since the Mr. Men Little Miss characters were introduced to the world, it felt right to celebrate the loveable characters on their own commemorative coins.
“All three coin designs have been designed exclusively by Adam Hargreaves, son of Roger Hargreaves the original creator and illustrator of the Mr. Men Little Miss. I had the pleasure of chatting to Adam in a recent zoom call and it was brilliant to hear his positive feedback on the range.”
Adam Hargreaves, son of Roger Hargreaves, main author and illustrator of Mr. Men and Little Miss and designer of the Mr. Men Little Miss commemorative coin collection said, “It is an absolute honour to not only have the Mr. Men Little Miss characters’ feature on official UK commemorative coins but to have the opportunity to create the designs that feature on the coins too. Over the past 50 years Mr. Men Little Miss characters’ have grown to become a global favourite amongst many and I am delighted to be celebrating 50 years of fun with The Royal Mint and I hope fans of the Mr. Men Little Miss series will be just as thrilled with this commemorative coin collection as I am.”
Created by prolific illustrator Roger Hargreaves in 1971, the Mr. Men Little Miss books and their ever-growing world of ‘Happyland’ have become a global favourite amongst many. The inspiration came in the form of a simple question: what does a tickle look like? The answer was Mr. Tickle, who is now one of more than 90 characters in an ever-growing collection, read in multiple languages in more than 24 countries around the world. Today, the Mr. Men Little Miss characters are illustrated by Roger’s son, Adam, captivating a new generation of fans with each passing decade.
To further celebrate the 50th anniversary of Mr. Men Little Miss, special guest Little Miss Inventor has also taken on the responsibility as Virtual Tour Guide at The Royal Mint Experience. While the door of The Royal Mint Experience remains temporarily closed, customers are able to virtually go behind the scenes of The Royal Mint to discover how the coins found in their pockets are made.
The first coin in the series features Mr. Happy and is available as gold and silver Proof editions, as well as a Brilliant Uncirculated edition and a special colour printed Brilliant Uncirculated edition, exclusively available from The Royal Mint. Visit www.royalmint.com/MrMen to view the full commemorative coin range. The coin will not be going into general circulation.
