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Plans to celebrate the life of Roald Dahl with a commemorative corner were discussed because of the author's antisemitic views, it can be revealed.
Duff's birth certificate has been "not regarded as an author of the highest reputation".
The decision is set in the minutes of a Royal Mint sub-committee meeting held in 2014, where the company instead opted for coins commemorating William Shakespeare and Beatrix Potter.
The decision was made against the Royal Mail honoring the children with a set of commemorative stamps celebrating his books, which were adapted to movies. These include Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the BFG.
The minutes state: "The themes set out below are considered but not recommended. 100th anniversary of the birth of Roald Dahl. Associated with antisemitism and not regarded as an author of the highest reputation. "
While Dahl 's children' s books remain beloved, his history of antisemitic remarks – which had previously been overlooked – clouded celebrations of his centenary.
In 1983, Dahl told the New Statesman: "There is a trait in the Jewish character that provokes animosity, maybe it's a kind of lack of generosity toward non-Jews . I mean, there's a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere; even a stinker like Hitler did not just pick them for no reason. "
In an interview with the Independent in 1990, he wrote about himself as antisemitic and railed against the "Jewish-owned" media.
He told the publication: "It began in 1982 when the Israelis invaded Lebanon. They killed 22,000 civilians when they bombed Beirut. It was very much hushed up in the newspapers because they are mainly Jewish-owned …
"I'm certainly anti-Israeli and I've become antisemitic in a lot of things. I think they should see both sides. It's the same old thing: we all know about Jews and the rest of it. There are not any Jewish publishers anywhere, they control the media – jolly clever thing to do – that's why the president of the United States has to sell all this stuff to Israel … "
Amanda Bowman, the Vice-President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, praised the Royal Mint's decision. "The Royal Mint was absolutely correct to reject the idea of a commemorative coin for Roald Dahl," she said. Many of his utterances were unambiguously antisemitic. He may have been a great children's writer but he was also a racist and this should be remembered. "
Meanwhile, Wes Streeting, Labor MP and co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British Jews, added: "Roald Dahl's children's stories have been my favorite books growing up and they will always occupy a special place in my heart. There's certainly no reason why future generations of children should not continue to enjoy those stories.
"But I think it's absolutely clear that the Royal Mint made the right decision because it's just no excusing or explaining Roald Dahl's comments and his views, which were antisemitic. It is as simple as that.
"This is not borderline antisemitism. This is clbadic, undeniable, blatant antisemitism. I think when it comes to celebrating individuals, these factors should be taken into account.
"In some ways, for those who have never really known this side of Roald's character, it's quite upsetting actually."
Last year, Jewish comedian David Baddiel said he was refusing to celebrate Roald Dahl day because of the author's views. He tweeted Dahl's New Statesmen quote, adding: "A mbadive fan of his work, I will not be celebrating #RoaldDahlDay".
A Royal Mint spokeswoman said: "The Royal Mint Advisory Committee (RMAC).
"Members of this committee include independent experts in the fields of art, history and design, from the Royal Mint.
"There is usually a large number of subjects nominated and it is therefore not possible to feature them all. So the aim is to create a shortlist of themes that reflect the most significant and appropriate events for national commemoration.
"On this occasion, the committee selected other themes to feature on corners for that particular year."
The Roald Dahl Story Company did not respond to a request for comment.
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