The Royal Mint is thrilled to announce that we will be releasing a new collection of UK coins celebrating 25 years since the publication of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (“Sorceror’s Stone” in the US), a book that continues to inspire a love of reading in countless people all over the world. The idea for Harry Potter, the boy in glasses who didn’t yet know he was a wizard, first came to J.K. Rowling during a delayed train journey from Manchester to London. From that moment of magic, the Boy Who Lived was imagined into being – an unassuming, 11-year-old hero destined to face terrible danger, but also find greatness within himself. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books in 1997, the first of J.K. Rowling’s spellbinding adventures of Harry Potter, and his unforgettable friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. In 2015, Bloomsbury commissioned artist Jim Kay to create the first fully illustrated edition of J.K. Rowling’s classic story.
Sign up here to take part in an enchanting event streamed live from The Royal Mint Experience. Taking place at 7 pm BST (British Summer Time) on Thursday, 8 September 2022, just a few days after the Hogwarts Express takes students to start a new term at a magical school, The Royal Mint will be unveiling the first coin design in the series. There will also be a panel discussion, where you will have the opportunity to send in questions for our expert panel to discuss.
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About The Royal Mint
The Royal Mint has an unbroken history of minting British coinage dating back over 1,100 years. Based in the Tower of London for over 500 years, by 1812 the Mint had moved out of the Tower to premises on London’s Tower Hill. In 1967 the building of a new Royal Mint began on its current site in South Wales, UK, to accommodate the minting of UK decimal coinage. Today, the Mint is the world’s largest export mint, supplying coins to the UK and overseas countries.
