New £2 coin. Photo: Image courtesy of The Royal Mint.
New £2 coin under fire
£2 coin launched by Royal Mint has been criticised by leading peace groups and individuals
A new £2 coin launched by the Royal Mint to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the start of the first world war has provoked criticism from leading peace groups and individuals. The coin depicts Horatio Kitchener and his slogan ‘Your country needs you’. Kitchener was secretary of state for war in 1914 and responsible for recruitment.
The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR), one of Britain’s oldest peace-making groups, has called on the public to make ‘Coins into Ploughshares’ by turning the new coins into an investment in a peaceful future. They suggest donating them to one of the many organisations working to build a just and peaceful world.
A petition has also been launched urging the Royal Mint to withdraw the design and produce a coin that truly commemorates the dead. Symon Hill, who initiated the petition in a personal capacity, explained: ‘I have nothing against a coin to mark this important anniversary. Indeed, I think it’s appropriate that we mark it. Like many others, I will be mourning the millions of lives wasted and asking what we can learn from this futile war.’
The coin, he pointed out, does nothing to commemorate the millions of people who died in the war, or the millions more who were wounded, traumatised, displaced, impoverished, imprisoned or bereaved. He added: ‘Just over 2,500 people have so far signed the petition, including a number of Quakers. Signatories include Andrew Feinstein, a former MP in South Africa. It is available at bit.ly/KitchenerCoin.’
Millius Palayiwa, director of the FoR, said: ‘We are very concerned that the launch of the new £2 coin design is in danger of glorifying war and drawing public attention away from the horrors of the trenches and the continuing need for peace, healing and reconciliation in the world.’
Richard Bickle, chair of the FoR, added: ‘The Fellowship of Reconciliation began, literally, on the eve of the first world war with a group of Christians from across Europe meeting to explore alternatives to armed conflict, and to assert their belief in Jesus’ call to build a world order based on love.
‘In this, our centenary year, that need is as pressing as ever, and we want to challenge the many world war one centenary commemorations which appear to glorify the “great war”.’
The Royal Mint said, in correspondence with the Friend, that it had produced coins for over 1,000 years that have recorded the passing of history, documenting changes of monarchs, customs and national themes.
It stressed that the coin is part of a five-year commemoration of ‘the emotive wartime journey from outbreak to armistice’.
There will be additional non-circulating coin designs ‘which portray events and themes of the first world war.’ Every coin goes through a ‘rigorous planning and design selection process by an independent panel known as The Royal Mint Advisory Committee’.
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