New 10p coins feature James Bond, queuing and tea

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A new collection of 10p coins featuring 26 designs that celebrate the best of British culture has entered circulation today.

Collectors will be keeping a keen eye out for the new coins, which include James Bond, cricket, fish and chips - and even queuing.

The Royal Mint says a total of 2.6 million coins will be minted, which equates to just 100,000 of each design.

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“The low mintage figures mean some of the 10p coins could become collectors’ items in the future,” according to financial website This is Money.

The coins will be handed out as change in Post Offices from today, while uncirculated collectable packs can be bought from the Royal Mint website.

The NHS, Stonehenge and the humble teapot are also celebrated in the collection, as are the double-decker bus and the Loch Ness Monster.

“I see this as a celebration of all things British and quirky,” says Anne Jessopp, chief executive at the Royal Mint.

“There is a lot to be proud of in the UK – whether it’s at the highest level, our Houses of Parliament representing democracy and freedom of speech, technological advancements such as Tim Berners-Lee’s world wide web, or just a good cup of tea, it’s all here in the designs,” she adds.

But some sports fans and royalists may be disappointed, according to The Daily Telegraph, with cricket chosen to feature over football or rugby, and the Queen missing out in place of “queuing”.

“There were also arguably less imaginative coin designs - including ‘X marks the spot’ for the letter X, and a picture of a Macintosh overcoat for the letter M,” the newspaper says.

The full collection:

A - Angel of the NorthB - Bond... James BondC - CricketD - Double-decker busE - English breakfastF - Fish and chipsG - Greenwich mean timeH - Houses of ParliamentI - Ice-cream coneJ - JubileeK - King ArthurL - Loch Ness MonsterM - MackintoshN - National Health ServiceO - Oak treeP - Post boxQ - QueuingR - RobinS - StonehengeT - TeapotU - Union flagV - VillageW - World wide webX - X marks the spotY - YeomanZ - Zebra crossing