Keen code breakers are in for a treat, as the Royal Mint has launched a fiendishly challenging puzzle.
The Great British Treasure Hunt will set amateur sleuths across the country a series of increasingly challenging puzzles.
Anyone who can solve all five levels of codes will earn the chance to win a solid gold bar worth over £28,000.
The treasure hunt centres on this elaborately designed £5 coin, dubbed ‘The Penny Drops’, which would-be codebreakers will need to ‘study, handle, and align’ to solve the later riddles.
However, you can attempt the first four questions right now, using just a few coins you might already have in your purse or wallet.
The first mind-bending riddle, cryptically titled ‘Uniting the Shield’, challenges you to find a hidden six-letter password to progress to the next level.
So, can you solve these challenges and prove yourself to be Britain’s best codebreaker?
Scroll down for the answers!
The treasure hunt centres on this elaborately designed £5 coin, dubbed ‘The Penny Drops’, which would-be codebreakers will need to ‘study, handle, and align’ to solve the later riddles
Although you will need the coin to solve all five levels of challenge and stand a chance of winning the £28,000 prize, the first level can be completed now
If you want to get involved, you can test your skills at the link here.
The first puzzle requires a six-letter word to solve a riddle, which reads: ‘Upon the coins a shield is shown, six fragments split yet not alone. Seek in your change, the puzzle starts, to find the whole from broken parts.
‘Set them down where arrows guide, the shapes unite, the shield’s inside. From these the letters shine in view, the path ahead is marked for you.’
Once you’ve solved that challenging test, there are still three more riddles to solve: Seven Siblings, The Constellations, and Newton’s Heptagon.
Hints are available along the way, and if you really get stuck, you can find the answers in the fact box below.
However, once you have successfully cracked this first level, beating the next four levels will require purchasing the code-breaking coin.
Not only does the coin come with a code that allows you to sign into the challenge, but it also holds clues that will be essential to solving the later codes.
The coin itself is covered with letters, symbols, a compass, and a diagram appearing to show the alignment of the planets.
There are hints available at each stage of the challenge and, if you are truly stumped, you can find the full answers below
If you are able to complete all five puzzles before March 30, 2026, you will be entered into a draw to win the grand prize – a solid gold bar worth over £28,000
Likewise, the Royal Mint says that the coin’s packaging will be packed with hidden layers of secrets, riddles, and puzzles that will need to be solved.
If you are able to complete all five puzzles before March 30, 2026, you will be entered into a draw to win the grand prize.
Although there will only be one overall winner, selected at random from the challenge finishers, there will also be five separate ‘side quests’ along the way.
These smaller challenges will be available to enter, whether or not you are entering the main challenge, and will come with the chance to win other prizes.
This coin’s design is inspired by the discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton, who, in addition to being one of Britain’s greatest scientists, was once Master of the Mint and led a crackdown on counterfeited currency.
The new £5 coin was unveiled today at the Science Museum in London, where mathematician Bobby Seagull was gifted the first-ever minted edition and named ‘Player One’ in the treasure hunt.
Mr Seagull says: ‘As a maths-lover, I’m thrilled to be ‘Player One’ for this coin that is truly a cryptographic masterpiece.
‘Its design, inspired by Newton’s genius, is a physical key that turns symbols and numbers into a brilliant puzzle. This isn’t just a coin; it’s an invitation to a nationwide intellectual adventure!’
The Great British Treasure Hunt Stage One: Hints and answers
Uniting the Shield
Clicking on the word ‘shield’ will reveal this strange diagram. Can you figure out how it might reveal the answer?
Riddle:
Upon the coins a shield is shown,
Six fragments split yet not alone.
Seek in your change, the puzzle starts,
To find the whole from broken parts.
Set them down where arrows guide,
The shapes unite, the shield’s inside.
From these the letters shine in view,
The path ahead is marked for you.
Hint: The Queen Elizabeth II definitive set is a series of coins you will find in your change – each one unique, yet somehow familiar. Could they be fragments of a larger design?
Seven Siblings
Riddle:
Seven siblings born of light,
Yet none may speak or stand.
They chase the storm but flee the night,
A bridge above the land.
Hint: Is there something formed of light, where seven colours reside together? What could that dial be trying to tell you? Have you looked closely at the symbols along its edge?
The Constellations
Hint: Do the discs move? Can you align the heavens?
Newton’s Heptagon
Clicking on the word ‘maker’ brings you to an image of this coin. Can you see how it might hold the key?
Riddle:
In metal’s mirror, time is cast,
A tribute to a thinker past.
Not the coin that starts your quest,
But one once struck with no less zest.
Blazing Sun and paths that spin,
Each orbit drawn with care and vim.
Yet answers lie not in the skies,
But nestled where the maker hides.
Two quiet marks may first appear,
But seek the name that’s written clear.
Not where morning makes its start,
But where the sun and shadows part.
Hint: Two little marks. Could they be the artist’s initials? Then look again – the full name is hiding in plain sight, not where the morning makes its start, but where the sun and shadows part.
Answers:
Uniting the Shield: Newton
Seven Sisters: Rainbow
The Constellations: Spin the wheels until the stars align
Newton’s Heptagon: West
