Queen Elizabeth II 2015 Silver Crown

This portrait was designed especially for this coin issue to celebrate Her Late Majesty becoming the longest reigning monarch in British history. This is the first time a commemorative coin has been minted for such an occasion. The emphasis of the portrait was that it should be affectionate as this portrait is a celebration, free of the constraints that are placed on the main coinage portraits.

The reverse is a simple design of a crown, centrally. The legend ‘One Crown’ is a play on words – the coin is a crown, but its face value is on the obverse – five pounds – so this also refers to the fact that Elizabeth II was the one crown, or one monarch, for a long time and also became Britain’s longest reigning monarch. The designer of both sides of this coin was James Butler MBE RA.