Alice In Wonderland coin released to mark 150 years since book’s publication

The Royal Mint has created a £5 crown featuring one of Sir John Tenniel’s sketches of Alice meeting the Cheshire Cat.
Alice in Wonderland
Tess de La Mare4 July 2021

The Royal Mint has released a new coin to commemorate 150 years since Lewis Carrol’s classic Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland was first published.

The commemorative £5 crown is based on Sir John Tenniel’s original illustrations of the book, and is being released in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A).

The coin depicts the scene where Alice meets the Cheshire Cat and will be available from the Royal Mint.

It is the first in a two part series, with a second coin due to be released later this year featuring a scene from Lewis Carrol’s second Alice book, Through The Looking Glass.

The second coin will feature twins Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Alice

The first coin is being launched alongside the V&A’s new exhibition Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser – which features a collection of Sir John’s famous illustrations from the books.

The coin is inscribed with the famous “curiouser and curiouser” phrase and its intricate design is thought to be one of the most detailed ever produced in the royal Mint’s 1,100 year history.

Both coins were created by the mint’s designer Ffion Gwillim and sculptor Emma Noble.

Clare Maclennan, a director at the Royal Mint, said: “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland is a true classic that has been cherished by generations of adults and children of all ages and is still as popular today.

She continued: “Inspired by Sir John Tenniel’s original illustrations, the beautiful £5 crown has been crafted to the finest quality, combining traditional minting skills with innovation in design technology.”

Amelia Calver, of the V&A, said “We’re delighted to be celebrating the global phenomenon beloved by all ages, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, with the 2021 commemorative coins.

“The designs masterfully capture the charm of Tenniel’s original illustrations and pay homage to some of the Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass characters that Alice meets along the way.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in