Description
Includes the first coin of King Charles III’s reign, in tribute to his mother Queen Elizabeth II, the fifty pence of 2022 in SILVER • and • the Queen Elizabeth II 95th Birthday silver Five Pound coin, the last British coin in history ever to feature her royal cypher ‘ERII’ also in SILVER.
The very first British coin of King Charles III’s reign was a fifty pence issued in solemn commemoration of the life and reign of his mother, and predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II. This fifty pence features the version of the Royal Arms used on the very first commemorative coin of Queen Elizabeth’s own reign which brings together the four shields of the four ‘home nations’ of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The obverse portrait of Charles III on this coin was sculpted by Martin Jennings — his first official coinage portrait — making this coin a genuine numismatic first: the opening chapter of a new reign.
Only 23,121 of this coin were issued in solid sterling silver and Proof quality.
This coin is paired with the last British coin ever to feature the Queen’s royal cypher. Issued in 2021 during her reign, as part of her 95th birthday celebrations, it features the Queen’s royal cypher — the interlaced ‘ERII’, a deeply personal mark of the monarch. This is surrounded by a floral garland, with the legend MY HEART AND MY DEVOTION from her 1957 Christmas speech, the first one ever broadcast on TV, in which she promised “I can give my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations”. There are also the year-dates 1926 and 2021. Her Fifth Coinage Portrait by Jody Clark is on the other side.
As a five pound coin, it is the modern descendant of the pre-decimal crown — a coin traditionally named in honour of the reigning monarch — making it a fitting tribute to her reign.
Minted in solid sterling silver and struck to Proof quality standards, an incredibly low 9,505 of this coin was produced.
Together, these two coins are a tribute to one of our greatest monarchs: one coin minted during her reign for the last celebration of one of her milestone birthdays, the other minted by her successor and son, in tribute to her, shortly after her death.
