Thomas Humphrey Paget

Who was Thomas Humphrey Paget?

Thomas Humphrey Paget OBE was a well-known English medal and coin designer and modeller. Paget's designs are indicated by the initials 'HP'.

Paget was first approached by the Royal Mint in 1936 after the accession of King Edward VIII. Paget's recommendation had come via his earlier design for the obverse of a medal featuring the then-Prince of Wales. After some controversy regarding the direction the monarch was to face on the coinage, Paget's work was approved in two slightly differing designs: one for silver and another for non-silver. However Edward's abdication meant that, apart from a few trial dies, Paget's designs never reached the minting stage.

A measure of the success of the Edward portrait can be seen in the fact that Paget alone was commissioned to design George VI's effigy in 1937. He is the only artist to have a second obverse design approved for use in sterling coinage in the 20th century. The portrait of George VI has since been described as "the classic coinage head of the 20th century".