Queen Victoria and Sherlock Holmes to feature on special edition coins

The 75th anniversary of the D-Day Landings and Queen Victoria’s 200th birthday are set to be marked with commemorative coins this year.

The former monarch, born in May 1819, will be featured on a rare £5 coin, alongside a telephone, a penny-farthing bicycle, and other icons from her six-decade-long reign, the Royal Mint has confirmed.

The issue of £5 coins is usually reserved for special royal occasions, with the last one released to mark the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding in May 2018.

The 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings on June 6 will be marked with a £2 coin.

The Allied Invasion of Normandy in 1944 was the largest seaborne invasion in history.

A classic Sherlock Holmes silhouette, complete with pipe and deerstalker hat, will appear on a commemorative 50p, marking the 160th birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The image of the world-famous literary detective is surrounded by titles of Sir Arthur’s stories, including The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Sign of Four.

Diarist Samuel Pepys will also be honoured, 350 years after his last entry, with a £2 coin to commemorate his influential documentation of events such as the Great Fire of London and the Plague.

The 260th anniversary of Wedgewood pottery will also be marked with a £2 coin.

Nicola Howell, director of consumer business at the Royal Mint, said: "Our 2019 designs feature a range of momentous people, events, and creations that have had an enduring role in British life and culture.

"These limited edition presentations are the only way to secure all of these coins in one set and are the perfect way to mark special moments in the year ahead."