Pobjoy and Gibraltar remembers Victory in Europe Day with a fifty pence coin trio

After several years of a numismatic commemoration for the centennial events of the First World War, we’re now firmly within the realms of the 75th anniversary memorials for the Second. An even bigger swathe of destruction swept around the globe for the rematch, with hardly a region in the world completely untouched. It’s fair to say that the First World War had a predominantly European focus, but the Second World War was a fight against two tyrannies simultaneously – linked more by a shared desire to subjugate their local regions than for any idealogical reasons.

Because of the war being split into two major theatres, it actually ended in two parts, such was the scale of it. The first of them was the capitulation of the Nazi regime in Europe and was termed Victory in Europe Day (VE Day). This took place in early May 1945, some three months before the surrender of Imperial Japan and the subsequent VJ Day.

There have already been a few celebratory coins issued for VE Day (we’ll get a guide together in the next couple of months), and now Pobjoy have added one of their seven-sided fifty-pence coins to the mix. Issued for Gibraltar, a territory which was a critical part of the Allied war effort in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, it comes in three variants. The most common of them all is a base-metal card-mounted version (£12.46 +vat), which shares an identical design to the sterling silver pair. These two differ only in the piedfort variant (£99.17+vat) coming in at double the weigh (16.0 grams instead of 8.0)of the standard coin (£49.17+vat) and both come identically packaged.

The design is clean and bold, centred around a silhouetted London skyline complete with floodlights sweeping the sky as they did during the famous London Blitz of 1940. A line of six coloured Allied flags, runs horizontally through the middle of the reverse face. A neat and thoughtful design, eschewing the jingoistic nature of military hardware for something more optimistic, perhaps. Available to order now, it will ship from the 7th May, just in time for the actual 75th anniversary day.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The German forces in Italy surrendered on 2nd May 1945. The following day a high-ranking German delegation, including a senior general, appeared at the headquarters of field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, located near Lubeck to surrender the German forces in Northern Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. The final document of unconditional surrender was signed on 7th May 1945 in a schoolhouse in Reims, France, at 0241 hours local time. German General Alfred Johl signed the surrender of all the German forces and General Dwight Eisenhower accepted the surrender on behalf of the allies, ending the war in Europe. The surrender was official at 2301 hours the next day, 8th May 1945 which has since become known as victory in Europe or VE Day.

Upon the defeat of Germany, celebrations erupted throughout the western world. In London, crowds massed in Trafalgar Square and up the Mall to Buckingham Palace, where King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Winston Churchill, appeared from to the Palace cheering crowds.

The design of our stunning new coin features the London skyline including St Paul’s Cathedral and the Palace of Westminster. Searchlights can be seen emanating behind St Paul’s Cathedral. Beneath the Skyline the national flags of the allies can be seen: The United Kingdom, France, New Zealand, United States of America, Canada and Australia. The wording ‘VE DAY 75th Anniversary” is displayed at the top of the con with the dates ‘1945-2020’ shown below. The wording ‘VE DAY’ is shown beneath the flags with the value below.