Nice coin action

Not one to be an avid collector of coins (but a pretty good spender of 'em), I've never really seen many coin or note designs that's impressed me much (aside from the Meta designed Dutch notes a few years back).

The new designs revealed by the Royal Mint however, are truly impressive: modern yet still a connection to the historical past. 

The new designs were chosen via an open competition which was widely publicised in the national media in August 2005 and attracted 4,000 entries. The winning designer is 26-year-old Matthew Dent, originally from Bangor who now lives and works in London as a graphic designer.

I do hope they're sorted that rather bloated portrait of the Queen however. Or used that portrait from the 60's, as she looked quite nice then...