A new £2 coin designed to mark 200 years since the publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein novel is today issued by the Royal Mint.
The novel was first published on January 1, 1818 and tells of the monster brought to life by Dr Frankenstein. It remains an icon of literature, widely filmed, retold and adapted to this day.
There is also a local link as Dudley born and bred film director James Whale, working with actor Boris Karloff, created the iconic look for the monster for his 1931 film adaptation of the story.
The Frankenstein coin is not the only new one announced on New Years Day.
100th anniversary of women getting the vote
A 50p coin will celebrate the political landmark of 100 years since women, at least those over the age of 30, were first given the vote with a design displaying Representation of the People Act which made it possible.
It was the culmination of years of campaigning by the Suffragettes.
The Act, which also extended the vote to servicemen aged over 19 and all men over 21, was granted royal assent on February 6 1918 and the first election under the new system was held later that year in December.
It took another ten years for women to be granted votes on the same terms as men, from the age of 21.
The end of the First World War
Another £2 coin, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the First World War Armistice, features a quote from Wilfred Owen's poem Strange Meeting - "the truth untold, the pity of war".
Owen, who was virtually unknown in his lifetime, wrote many of his poems in 1917 and 1918, and they were published after his death in action, aged 25, during a British assault on the German-held Sambre Canal on the Western Front on November 4 1918, a week before the signing of the Armistice.
Probably his best known work is the anit-war peom 'Dulce et Decorum est'.
The formation of the Royal Air Force
A £2 coin will also honour the Royal Air Force, which was formed on April 1 1918, towards the end of the First World War.
It joined with the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).
Dr Kevin Clancy, director of the Royal Mint Museum, said: "This is an important year for The Royal Mint, as amongst our 2018 coin themes are the centenaries of three key events that have shaped the country as we know it today.
"The Representation of the People Act 1918 50p remembers the moment women were first given the right to vote, whilst 200 years of Mary Shelley's Dr Frankenstein are marked in a £2 coin.
"Two more £2 coins honour moments that will be occupying the thoughts of many this year, the 100th anniversary of the First World War Armistice, and the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Air Force."
