# The reign of King Charles III of the United Kingdom **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 8, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232 "2022-09-08T18:05:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 50
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/984 "2023-11-06T20:25:54Z")
Years ago when I was in San Francisco I picked up a paper Muni map and rubber stamped in a white space on the back was _Compliments of Mayor Moscone’s office._ I thought, “He’s been mayor for years. How much would it cost to simply print his name instead of stamping it?” Three days later her was shot dead along with Harvey Milk. 😬 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/985 "2023-11-06T21:18:58Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Other countries have costs associated with the turnover of heads of state - usually more often than once every 70 years. Britain is still using the occasional post box with “VR” on it. If it ain’t broke, don’t replace it. ETA: Yesterday, I bought a package of stamps with Charlie on them. Rather sombre - his face is in shades of grey, with a dark grey background. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/986 "2023-11-06T22:04:34Z")
Badges and stuff will gradually get turned over as new stock is ordered. In most cases the old stuff wont be binned just for being out of date (last time we couldn’t afford to, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/987 "2023-11-06T23:19:16Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Other countries have costs associated with the turnover of heads of state - usually more often than once every 70 years. Since Eisenhower in 1952 there have been… what, 12 different presidents? What in the U. S. has to be replaced when a new president takes office, other than stuff like stationery? Our police and military don’t have anything equivalent to the royal cyphers, AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/988 "2023-11-06T23:37:47Z")
Well, a lot of government offices will have a portrait of the current president hanging in a prominent place. I’m not sure how much they spend on the print. The frames are usually pretty spartan. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/989 "2023-11-06T23:55:01Z")
Not a new president, but when a state has a new governor, they change the Welcome to [State Name] signs to include the new governor’s name. Typically, though, they just cover the old name with the new one, rather than replacing the whole sign. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/990 "2023-11-07T00:15:55Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > What in the U. S. has to be replaced when a new president takes office, other than stuff like stationery? Our police and military don’t have anything equivalent to the royal cyphers, AFAIK. They don’t replace them in the UK either. They use up existing stocks, and only when new stocks have to be manufactured anyway do they roll out the new cypher. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/991 "2023-11-07T16:06:50Z")
Yes, the articles note that. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/992 "2023-11-07T16:09:41Z")
It’s not a very good cipher–trivially easy to decrypt. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/993 "2023-11-07T19:12:51Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Well, a lot of government offices will have a portrait of the current president hanging in a prominent place. I’m not sure how much they spend on the print. The frames are usually pretty spartan. Every military headquarters from at least battalion level and up has a picture of the chain of command to include the president. Used to be they would send out tons of official glossy photos. Now they probably print them locally. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/994 "2023-11-07T19:15:51Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > It’s not a very good cipher–trivially easy to decrypt. That’s why they spell it with a “y.” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/995 "2023-11-16T03:29:40Z")
Royal Canadian Mint unveils new coins with His Maj on them. > **[1st batch of newly minted Canadian coins bearing King Charles's image unveiled...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/king-charles-coin-royal-canadian-mint-1.7027749)** > > The Royal Canadian Mint revealed the design of its new coins during a news conference at its Winnipeg plant on Tuesday. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/996 "2023-11-16T03:55:17Z")
Do you (or does anyone) know why on earth this has taken so long? I know it’s crass to anticipate a death, but surely a monarch in her mid-90s would prompt someone to at least consider plans for a change in coinage, such as maybe having a portrait queued up and the dies in production. Even if they hadn’t, why would it take over a year? They have to do new ones every calendar year, anyway. I know in the UK they changed the backs, too, but I don’t think we’re going anything quite so radical, are we? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/997 "2023-11-16T04:04:00Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Royal Canadian Mint unveils new coins with His Maj on them. I’ll believe he’s king when I see a penny with his face on it wind up mixed in with the American pennies in the change in my register at work. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/998 "2023-11-16T04:05:26Z")
Ummm … Canada hasn’t minted pennies in at least ten years, give or take. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/999 "2023-11-16T04:07:03Z")
All the more proof that this fellow is some sort of Stuart pretender, or, even worse, a Catholic. 🙂 _Dimes_ with his face on it mixed into my change bin, then. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1000 "2023-11-16T04:19:42Z")
The article said the were released Tuesday on his 75th birthday, but several commemorative coins have already been released. I wonder if this will be such a short run that the mintage won’t be very high, so that with “first year” demand that they will become desirable. They can probably crank out lots of coins yet this year, so I doubt they’ll be all that rare. It might be fun to try to find them is circulation though. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1001 "2023-11-16T04:28:12Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > such as maybe having a portrait queued up and the dies in production My understanding is that the monarch personally approves the effigy for the coins, so even if the mint was making some plans, nothing could happen until the King approved it. Charles has likely been busy this year, what with the funeral, the coronation, the presentation in Scotland, and so on. New coins might have been low on his list. Only after he approved it would it be possible to make new dies. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1002 "2023-11-16T04:42:13Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Do you (or does anyone) know why on earth this has taken so long? > > I know it’s crass to anticipate a death, but surely a monarch in her mid-90s would prompt someone to at least consider plans for a change in coinage, such as maybe having a portrait queued up and the dies in production. Even if they hadn’t, why would it take over a year? They have to do new ones every calendar year, anyway. I know in the UK they changed the backs, too, but I don’t think we’re going anything quite so radical, are we? Coins are not banknotes. They last for many years, and SFAIK they don’t have to do new issues of every coin every year. There’s no mad rush about updating the monarch’s image; why would there be? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1003 "2023-11-16T04:50:26Z")
But they do issue coins every year. Usually the date is all that changes. 2023 is unusual in that there HAVEN’T been any coins issued. It’s not like we’re going to run out; it’s not a(n inter)national emergency. It’s just that it seems odd that it would take so long. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232.md?page=49) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232.md?page=51)