Coins are obviously very useful - we need them for buying things like chewing gum and Pokémon cards - but they also hold a bizarre fascination; we get very attached to them. Remember the uproar when it was threatened we might join the Euro, and lose our lovely, chunky quids?
There are tiny joys in coming across rare coins on your pocket, not least because some of them can be worth big money, and now we’ll be getting a whole wealth of new ones to collect/spend frivolously on snacks, as the Royal Mint are releasing 26 news 10p pieces, one for each letter of the alphabet.
More than 2.6 million coins are being released, according to ChangeChecker, with an equal number for each of the 26 letters of the alphabet.
Each one has something related to the UK beginning with the relevant letter on it, and we’ve started to wonder whether the makers regretted committing to all 26 letters when push came to shove.
There are some very UK-specific ones, such as L for Loch Ness Monster and S for Stonehenge, but others – well let’s just say they mention things that definitely also exist overseas.
Take a look at the 26 in full and pick your favourite.
1.A is for Angel of the North
2.B is for Bond
3.C is for Cricket
4.D is for Double-decker bus
5.E is for English breakfast
6.F is for Fish and chips
7.G is for Greenwich Mean Time
8.H is for the Houses of Parliament
9.I is for Ice cream
10.J is for jubilee
11.K is for King Arthur
12.L is for Loch Ness Monster
13.M is for Mackintosh
14.N is for the National Health Service
15.O is for Oak
16.P is for Post box
17.Q is for Queue
18.R is for Robin
19.S is for Stonehenge
20.T is for Tea
21.U is for Union flag
22.V is for Villages
23.W is for the World Wide Web
24.X is for X marks the spot
25.Y is for Yeoman warder
26.Z is for Zebra crossing
(Images: Royal Mint)