USW graduate designs whimsical new commemorative coin for The Royal Mint
3 August, 2021
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Ffion Gwillim, artist and USW graduate, has designed a commemorative £5 crown to celebrate 150 years of Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
The 24-year-old, from Abercynon, joined the modelling concept team at The Royal Mint in 2020, after her degree in Graphic Communication at USW, and is the youngest in-house designer at the company.
Ffion has immortalised Alice and her friends in Wonderland for the first time on official UK coin, taking inspiration from Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations from the book, which was first published 150 years ago.
She also designed the official Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland coin, featuring Alice and the Cheshire Cat, which launched last month alongside the original illustrations at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Available in gold, silver and brilliant uncirculated, as well as a special colour edition, the coin uses traditional minting techniques and innovative design technology to capture Alice’s meeting with Tweedledum and Tweedledee, alongside the inscription ‘Through the Looking-Glass’. Based on the intricate detail of Tenniel’s illustrations, the design is one of the most detailed coins produced by the 1,100-year-old Makers.
Watch how Ffion’s designs came to life alongside the work of The Royal Mint’s sculptor, Emma Noble:
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As with all coins produced by The Royal Mint, Ffion’s designs were submitted to an independent body, The Royal Mint Advisory Committee, before being shared with the Chancellor and Her Majesty the Queen. Her designs were then selected for the celebratory coin.
Ffion said: “It is such a huge honour to design the official Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass commemorative coin. As a designer at the Royal Mint, it is the ultimate achievement, and this project was particularly exciting for me as I grew up with these stories – they evoke fantastic childhood memories for me and so many others, and I’ve loved every minute.”
As well as earning her the top honour of designing the two-coin series, as seen by The Queen, Ffion has wowed The Royal Mint’s Product Design Lead Lee Jones since joining the team.
Lee added: “Making something original when using existing illustrations is a task, however Ffion provided us with great compositions and a fantastically inventive logotype that breaths fresh air into Alice’s Wonderland.”
Collectors can purchase the second coin, celebrating Through the Looking Glass, on a commemorative £5 crown from The Royal Mint.
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