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Headline: The Royal Mint reveals the latest Gruffalo coin to celebrate the 20th Anniversary

Caption: The Royal Mint celebrates the 20th Anniversary of one of the world’s favourite literary monsters, The Gruffalo, in partnership with Magic Light Pictures with a new commemorative coin celebrating Mouse and Gruffalo’s first meeting. The famous story of brains over brawn, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler was first published twenty years ago. Since then, it has become a firm bedtime favourite having sold 14.5 million copies worldwide, with the tale and stunning illustrations proving to children globally that monsters aren’t always frightening. The Gruffalo and Mouse commemorative 50p captures the distinctive beast and Mouse meeting in the woods. The coin is available in different finishes including the Silver proof coloured coin which captures the uniqueness of the Gruffalo monster and the bravery of Mouse in incredibly vibrant colours and detail. Nicola Howell, Director of Consumer at The Royal Mint commented: “Following the fantastic response to the Gruffalo’s debut appearance on a 50p coin to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the book, we are delighted to introduce an additional coin capturing Mouse and Gruffalo’s first meeting, continuing the story of one of the world’s most favourite literary monsters on UK coins.” Julia Donaldson, said: “The launch of the first Gruffalo coins in February was a great 20th Birthday present for him, and the issue of a second collectable 50p coin in the same year feels like the icing on his birthday cake.” Axel Scheffler, commented: "Having never imagined that the Gruffalo would appear on a coin, it is great that we have two coins in the 20th year of the book. A love of the story unites children across the world and I hope that they will be able to cherish these stories for a long time." It joins the ranks of other celebrated popular children’s characters that have appeared on coins in recent times including the sell-out Beatrix Potter character collection, Paddington, the friendly Peruvian bear and the Christmas favourite, The Snowman. The commemorative coins will be available in Gold proof, Silver proof and Brilliant Uncirculated and will be available to purchase from www.royalmint.com, prices start from £10. This is a commemorative coin and will not be entering general circulation, so this is the only way to own this special coin.

Keywords: royal mint,coin,Gruffalo,gold,reverse,tone,feature,photo feature,photo story

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