Harry Potter fans and coin collectors are steaming ahead to get their hands on the latest coin released in a unique collection celebrating 25 years of the boy wizard.

An image of the Hogwarts Express - the train which carries Harry and his friends to and from school - has been chosen as the design for the next coin in the collection celebrating the 25th anniversary of Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone.

The range is also unique because it will feature both portraits of the Queen and King Charles - a move expected to increase demand because of the change in portrait halfway through the collection's release.

The first two coins - an already released Harry Potter piece and this month's issue featuring the iconic steam train will both feature the image of Her Late Majesty on the reverse while the final two coins in the series will feature the official portrait of King Charles III. These will be available in 2023.

All coins feature the work of Jim Kay - the artist who created the first fully illustrated edition of the Harry Potter story.

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and later - The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizard - are expected to be the chosen designs for the final two coins in the range.

Combining traditional minting techniques with technology, The Royal Mint’s craftspeople have reproduced his illustrations in colour for the first time on the collectable coins. Many of the coins - says the Royal Mint - will also have a ‘latent feature’ which rotates in the light to reveal a lightning bolt and the number ‘25’ to mark the anniversary year.

Jim Kay said: "It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It is the same for most aspects of publishing – because you are on your own all of the time in a studio, none of it quite seems real until you see the book on a shelf in a shop. Then you think ‘oh yeah! I did that!’

"This is completely new to me though, a coin!"

All the commemorative coins will be available to buy through the Royal Mint website as they are released and prices start from £11 through to more than £1,000 for a 'gold proof' 50p coin.

Ffion Gwillim, The Royal Mint designer who modelled the artwork onto the coins, said: “The Harry Potter illustrations are so iconic and recognisable, we wanted to faithfully recreate them on a UK coin for the first time. Working with Jim Kay, we’ve created a collection which is a fitting celebration to the original artwork and the iconic story."