New Royal Cypher

 Today saw the release of the new Royal Cypher for King Charles III

There will be a transitional period of a few years as it's introduced on coins, bank notes, stamps etc.  

British Police Forces will no doubt have there own timetable for changing their helmet plates where they do still use the generic E II R Royal Cypher. I expect the London Metropolitan Police will probably take the lead and be the first to replace theirs with the new design. They may choose a phased approach by issuing initially to new recruits, once the new badge becomes available.

The London Metropolitan Police has always used the Royal Cypher on their helmet plates. Others, such as Avon & Somerset Constabulary have adopted their own design for their helmet plates since 1990. 

Hertfordshire Constabulary helmet plates have a separate ER cypher centre which can be removed and replaced with the new CR design. The helmet below was made by Hobsons in 2009.

Hertfordshire Constabulary Helmet 2009

Surprisingly, the Channel Islands Police on Guernsey have continued using a helmet plate which uses a King's crown from the reign on King George VI. 

Island of Guernsey Police Helmet - current

Police Horse Brasses

 

 

Horse brasses are a traditional form of decoration used for parade horses or simply as wall ornaments. These are made of solid brass and often mounted onto leather or thick card. The examples here represent Avon & Somerset Constabulary and it's predecessors. These are full size facsimiles of the equivalent helmet plate. 

The reverse is usually plain and flat without any makers marks. However, occasionally they can be found with  a maker or supplier adhesive label. 

Whilst relatively rare, they don't attract much interest and appear on eBay occasionally for around £10-£25.

Here's a closer visual guide.

 

1. Bristol Constabulary 1968-1974

 2. Somerset Constabulary 1952-1967

3. City of Bath Police 1952-1967

4. Somerset & Bath Constabulary 1967-1974

5. Avon & Somerset Constabulary 1974-1985. Mounted on thick heavy duty leather.

 

 

 

6. Avon & Somerset Constabulary 1974-1985. Mounted on 'leatherette' card. This type of mounting becomes brittle over time and susceptible to damage.

7. Avon & Somerset Constabulary 1974-1985. This is hand-painted and unusual in that the centre design is the same as those used for Somerset Constabulary, but with the more recent Avon and Somerset lettering.

 

 

 

8. Avon & Somerset Constabulary 1985-1990. This centre design was introduced around 1985 to replace the generic ER helmet plate. The new centre design was initially just chome but around 1990 was coloured with the letter "AND" being replaced with "&". This would suggest the horse brass shown below was produced around 1985-1990.  This example is also mounted on heavy duty thick leather.