Like a bolt of fabric unfurling across time, the Royal Mint has stitched together Liberty’s past and present into a shimmering £5 commemorative coin. This isn’t just currency—it’s wearable art, a pocket-sized canvas where Tudor architecture dances with paisley swirls from the brand’s latest textile collection.
Founded in 1875 by Arthur Lasenby Liberty, the emporium became London’s temple of avant-garde design. Its Tudor beams and kaleidoscopic prints didn’t just decorate homes—they redefined British aesthetics. Now, craftsmen have hammered that legacy into precious metal, with proof editions so detailed you can almost smell the ink from the original woodblock prints.
"We’ve embroidered numismatics with fashion," admits the Mint’s commemorative coin director, tracing the coin’s relief with evident pride. The design—a first for any UK fashion house—captures Liberty’s alchemy: part art studio, part merchant’s stall, wholly unapologetically extravagant.
Meanwhile, Liberty’s design manager reflects on the tribute: "Like our fabrics, this coin was meant to be touched—to pass through hands and histories." True to form, even the sales strategy feels curated: coins nestle beside silks in the flagship store, turning commerce into theater.
For collectors, it’s a chance to own a fragment of design rebellion. For Liberty? Just another 150 years of blurring the lines between utility and objet d’art.
