Description
Queen Elizabeth II 2021 The 95th Birthday Commemorative Silver Set
The minting of a crown-sized coin to celebrate important royal events is a British tradition that dates back almost a century to the Silver Jubilee of King George V’s reign in 1935. Many of the important events in Her Majesty’s life and reign have been celebrated by the striking of a crown sized commemorative coin and now, as the nation helps The Queen celebrate her history-making 95th birthday, a crown sized commemorative British £5 coin has been minted.
This includes the first ever pure silver two ounce coin for a royal event – and it is in this set! This silver two ounce is the first time a royal birthday has been celebrated with a British coin in two ounces of pure silver.
Both coins in this set are proof quality and feature the superb 95th birthday design. They also share the same inscription. This features words taken from The Queen’s very first televised Christmas broadcast in 1957, ‘My Heart and My Devotion’, a promise to the British people she has kept ever since.
THE DESIGN
The coins in this set share the same design, created by Timothy Noad (designer of the 2002 Golden Jubilee sovereign and 2005 Modern St George sovereign amongst others).
The design depicts The Queen’s royal cypher surrounded by a floral garland, a posy for the Queen on her birthday.
Her Majesty is well-known for her love of nature and flowers, a passion that Timothy Noad shares and often uses as inspiration for his work. “I am inspired by many things, including real plants and flowers… I liked the idea that a posy or bouquet is often presented to The Queen, perhaps on her birthday, and that this could be a tribute from the four nations of the United Kingdom.”
For this special coin series it was important to balance the royal theme with an element of informality for this more personal occasion.
“For this design, I made the flowers more naturalistic and less formal than usual, for example, the rose at the top. I originally experimented with using spring flowers but eventually settled on the national floral emblems – thistles, daffodils, roses and shamrocks – which are tried and tested in coin designs and connect Her Majesty to the four UK nations.”
The final design has a tapestry effect, with the Royal Cypher standing out against a mass of delicate leaves and flowers.
Whilst he generally works with traditional symbols, Timothy did go against the norm with one element: “I felt that Her Majesty would prefer to be given a daffodil rather than the more heraldically correct Welsh leek!”
