The Royal Canadian Mint Unveiled The New King Charles III Coin (PHOTOS)

The Royal Canadian Mint has officially unveiled the newest effigy of King Charles III for the very first time, which will be featured on the obverse of Canadian coins.

Following the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III became Canada's newest monarch, and with a new royal head came a newly designed effigy. "The process to create a new design for the effigy of His Majesty King Charles III was complex and involved many steps," the Royal Canadian Mint said.

After the Government of Canada's announcement, over 350 artists in their database as well as Mint engravers were invited via email. Those who expressed interest and submitted a portfolio of portrait work underwent evaluation. Shortlisted candidates then received an artist brief detailing mandatory design requirements. The internal Mint review panel assessed design concepts based on aesthetics, technical criteria, and mass-production feasibility, per the Mint.

The Canadian loonie and toonie with the new King Charles III effigy. The Royal Canadian Mint

The winning design later underwent approvals from Buckingham Palace. The production of new Canadian circulation coins commenced, which is set to be followed by the release of the new effigy on numismatic and bullion coins.

The Royal Canadian Mint made it clear that they are not personally behind the decision to transition to King Charles III on Canadian coins. In fact, the decision when it comes to the permanent obverse "lies exclusively with the Government of Canada," the Mint said.

The Canadian nickel and quarter featuring the effigy of King Charles III. The Royal Canadian Mint

For those worried that the current coins featuring Queen Elizabeth II won't be accepted any longer, rest assured that any and all coins currently in circulation across Canada will remain legal tender, "regardless of the fact that our monarch has changed." Considering coins can have a lifespan of over 20 years, Canadians will likely see coins featuring the late queen for "many more years," the Mint indicated.

Although the Royal Canadian Mint said that they could not provide an exact timeline as to when the coin will be commonly found among Canadians' change, the Mint did say that a small batch of 2023-dated coins featuring the effigy of King Charles III will begin circulating as of early December, per CTV News.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.