A set of rare coins celebrating the 20th anniversary of much-loved children's story The Gruffalo has been released.
The Royal Mint launched the commemorative 50p coins depicting the Gruffalo to mark 20 years since the famous monster was created.
Available in three different finishes, the coins are set to be highly collectable as they are not for general circulation and only limited stock will be made available in limited edition presentaion packs.
The Gruffalo was written by Julia Donaldson and has sold 13.5 million copies worldwide since its publication 20 years ago, accompanied by illustrations from Axel Scheffler.
Ms Donaldson said: "I can't believe it has been 20 years since The Gruffalo was first published.
"In that time, he's been brought to life on stage and screen, featured in nature trails, library cards and book tokens and turned into a soft toy; and now he's got his own 50p coin."
The coins depict the beast with his orange eyes, poisonous wart and purple prickles and are available in golf proof, silver proof and brilliant uncirculated.
Prices start from £10 for the uncirculated coin, £65 for the silver proof coin, and £795 for the gold coin, which weighs 15.50g, with only 600 available for purchase, the rarest of the three.
Nicola Howell, director of consumer business at The Royal Mint, said: "Over the last 20 years The Gruffalo has become one of the most famous children's characters in the world.
"We felt it was only right, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the book being published to feature him on a commemorative coin. We hope that children and adults across the UK will love this family favourite as much as we do."
How to get the coins
Head over to www.royalmint.com, where you will be placed in a queue.
The coins are rare and demand is expected to be extremely high, so you may be in the queue for a while.
The Royal Mint advises you to wait in the queue and not press refresh or reload as this will increase the wait time.
Which other children's characters have been celebrated with coins?
This is not the first time a celebrated children's character has been used for a coin.
Recent editions include the Beatrix Potter character collection, Paddington, the friendly Peruvian bear and the Christmas favourite, The Snowman.
The Paddington Bear coin costs £60 for the top-end design, although a cheaper alternative was available for £10.
In November, 50p coins celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Snowman were available for £10, while around a year ago designs with images of Peter Rabbit, Flopsy Bunny, Mrs Tittlemouse and a helpful mouse from the Tailor of Gloucester were released to celebrate Potter's 150th anniversary.
