The British Government will commemorate the U.K.’s exit from the European Union (EU) with a new coin bearing the words “Friendship With All Nations,” according to reports.
The commemorative 50 pence (64 cent) Brexit coin will feature Queen Elizabeth II and the official date Britain leaves the EU, March 29, 2019.
Treasury chief Philip Hammond was schedule to announce the special coin during a budget speech.
Brexit and efforts to finalize the historic departure agreement have caused controversy since U.K. voters decided to leave the EU in June 2016.
The Sun newspaper reported that Treasury officials secretly developed the coin for months, before conservative members of parliament campaigned to “create an enduring gesture to mark Brexit as a landmark national moment.”
Brexit opponents, according to The Associated Press, were unimpressed and on Monday quickly flooded social media with jokes playing up the negative impact Brexit could have on the U.K. economy.
The Royal Mint issued a commemorative coin in 1973 when the U.K. joined the European Economic Community and again in 1998 when the U.K. held the EU presidency.
Recently, the Royal Mint has issued coins commemorating the 2012 Olympics, Kew Gardens, Beatrix Potter, Paddington Bear and the Battle of Hastings in 1066, which signaled the start of the Norman conquest of England.
• Dan Boylan can be reached at dboylan@washingtontimes.com.
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