Phillip Hammond is set to announce plans for a special 50 pence coin to commemorate Brexit in his latest budget.
The move is intended to appease Brexiteers who have been campaigning for a stamp, bank holiday or coin to acknowledge Britain’s departure from the European Union. This would in addition to a return of blue passports and May’s recent announcement of a ‘festival of Brexit Britain’.
According to The Sun it will be available from when Britain is due to leave the EU on 31 March 2019 at 11pm.
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The coin itself does not reference Brexit but instead references the date of departure, and Britain’s relationship with the world as a whole. It is expected to be branded with a message that partially quotes Thomas Jefferson. It will say ‘friendship with all nations.’
A source close to Hammond said: ‘It’s an historic moment which will rightly be commemorated.’
Twitter users joked that the new 50p coin could look a lot like a £1 coin due to its falling value since Brexit.
Best for Britain chief Eloise Todd said: ‘Initiatives like this coin launch are designed to try and give the false impression that Brexit is a foregone conclusion. The people of this country want and deserve the final say on the deal, and politicians must pledge to give it to us without delay.’
Earlier this year Leavers attempted to create their own Brexit coin to sell on eBay. It included a map of Britain under the motto ‘Never Give Our Sovereignty Away Again’.
Unfortunately the tails side included the message ‘I Voted To Get Back Our Sovereign Independance’ complete with a French spelling of the final word.
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