Queen Elizabeth II on coins

22-09-19 14:08

Changing the ruler's image on coins is a labour-intensive task. The death of Queen Elizabeth II means changes that could take at least two years.

Why Elizabeth II was on many collector coins?

The British Empire was the largest empire in human history. Its borders have changed over the years, but these days the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is also the head of 14 other states: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands, which together with the United Kingdom have the status of the so-called Commonwealth realm. The number of countries in which Elizabeth II reigned fluctuated during her reign. The number of countries that recognised her as head of state was 33, so that the coins issued in these countries displayed the image of Elizabeth II on their obverses..

There are 4.5 billion notes in circulation bearing the image of Queen Elizabeth II. Their total value is £80 billion. Replacing them with the image of the new monarch is likely to take at least two years. Interestingly, Elizabeth II was the only British monarch on Bank of England banknotes, although not the only monarch on UK banknotes. The earliest Royal Bank of Scotland banknotes in the 18th and 19th centuries featured portraits of British monarchs George II, George III and George IV, and the current £20 Scottish banknote issued by Clydesdale Bank features a portrait of 14th-century Scottish King Robert I Bruce. This changed in 1960, when the image of Elizabeth II first appeared on £1 notes issued by the Bank of England. The design of the banknotes was prepared by Robert Austin. However, it was controversial due to the overly serious image of the Queen. Money with an image of Elizabeth II will remain legal tender for some time to come. A date will soon be set after which they can no longer be used..

What about bullion and collector coins?

Many mints such as the Royal Mint, Royal Canadian Mint and Perth Mint have already presented images of bullion and collector coins for 2023. Thus, all indications are that we will still be able to purchase new coins with the image of Elizabeth II in the following year. However, it should be borne in mind that issuers will no longer consent to the use of the late Queen's image when the application is received after 8 September 2022. So what will we see on such coins? Before the image of Charles III appears, we are likely to see the royal coat of arms on them.

The image of Elizabeth II on coins - how has it changed over time?

Portraits of Elizabeth II on coins, unlike her images on banknotes, are not very diverse. Eight of these have been created to date - five British, which are used throughout the 'British world'(according to agreements made), two Canadian, one Australian.

The basic and invariable rule is that the profile of the heir to the throne faces the opposite direction to that of his predecessor. George VI was facing right, so coins bearing the image of Elizabeth II show her profile facing left. Interestingly, the image of Charles III has already appeared on commemorative coins as Prince of Wales, including on the occasion of his 60th birthday. However, this portrait faces the same direction as Elizabeth II, so a new portrait of the monarch will have to be created.

The second common rule is the inclusion of a signature. In the early days this was the phrase Elizabeth II with the Latin title Dei Gratia Regina, which took a full or abbreviated form such as: D-G-REGINA or D-G-REG, meaning by the grace of God, Queen, with the addition of F:D: or F D or Fid Def, which is an abbreviation of the Latin fidei defensor - defender of the faith (still used today, mainly UK and Canada). In other countries (e.g. New Zealand, Gibraltar) it was the phrase Elizabeth II Quinn of(name of country); Quinn Elizabeth the Second (e.g. Antigua and Barbuda, Cyprus). Elizabeth II or Quinn Elizabeth II alone is also encountered. Another rule is to place the sovereign with a crown - the first image of the sovereign (George V, Edward VII, Edward VIII or George VI had only 1 image) is always without a crown, and only each subsequent image is depicted with a crown.

There are also coins that do not show a portrait of the Queen or the portrait itself without a signature (e.g. on Dominica). These images may vary slightly in detail, detail, depending on the issuer and year of mintage.

Portraits of the sovereign were selected in an official competition. The winner was chosen anonymously by the Royal Mint's Advisory Committee and then had to be approved by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the sovereign himself. What is worth mentioning is that these competitions involved coins issued by the Royal Mint in the UK. For example, the Royal Canadian Mint held its own competition for the image of the Queen on its bullion Maple Leafs.

The first portrait of Elizabeth II is from a photograph taken in 1952 by Mary Gillick and was used from 1953 to 1967.The monarch was then 26 years old.

A second portrait of Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on coins between 1968 and 1984

A third portrait of Elizabeth II by Raphael Maklouf appeared on coins between 1985 and 1997

The fourth portrait of Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley appeared on coins between 1998 and 2015

The fifth portrait of Elizabeth II by Jody Clark appeared on coins in 2015, with the Queen's age at 88.

Collector coins commemorating Elizabeth II

The Mint of Gdansk has so far issued as many as 68 collector coins with the image of Elizabeth II. However, wishing to commemorate the Queen in a special way, in recent days the Mint of Gdansk issued five one-ounce coins (struck from pure silver) with the image of Elizabeth II. Each coin was subjected to refinements - they were covered with colour printing, a special "space" technique and gilding. The coins are limited - the mintage of each is only 200 pieces.

2£ Queen of Great Britain - Space Blue