Royal Mint launch two new coin designs for the Queens Sapphire Coronation celebrations

It has been a busy couple of years for Royal coin collectors with a whole string of landmark events around Queen Elizabeth II’s groundbreaking reign. She has already become the longest reigning British monarch and recently celebrated her 90th birthday. Chuck in what seems like an endless procession of marriages and births, and it’s easy to see how busy the genre has become. The latest event to be marked by the Royal Mint is the 65th anniversary of her coronation.

Two designs have been produced – one for the high-end market and one for the (relatively) low end. The high-end coin has been designed by Dominique Evans and depicts a good looking image of the Queen holding the orb and sceptor of state. It’s a fine piece of work and a bit different from the usual staid depiction that has blighted royal-themed issued over the years. Unfortunately, this is only available in 5oz gold, 5oz silver and 1kg silver formats. As you’d expect from the Royal Mint, they’re not cheap either, selling for £8465, £415 and £2050 respectively. All are beautifully packaged of course, and include booklets and certificates of authenticity.

The second design is a more traditional effort from the mint – a heraldic composition. Stephen Taylor is responsible for this one and he’s done a good job with what is an unadventurous format. It must be difficult to impart any originality with heraldic designs under such a tight artistic brief, but this one fills the coin well and is attractive enough to appeal to the legions of royal coin collectors out there. There’s the usual near 40 g 22kt gold version, along with a one ounce silver and two ounce piedfort silver variants (both 0.25 sterling fineness). These sell for £1980, £155 and £82.50 respectively.

All six coins (as well as a £13 base metal issue of the shield design) are available to order now. Not a bad effort for an overly represented genre, both are good examples of the type, but the sheer number of royal coins put out by this Wales-based mint is starting to induce fatigue in me at least. More variety please.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

A royal year of celebration in 2018 continues with a very important anniversary. Having become our longest reigning monarch in 2015 and celebrating her 90th birthday in 2016, the remarkable reign of Her Majesty The Queen presents another historic milestone as we mark the 65th anniversary of her coronation.

65 years ago, in June 1953, the coronation of Her Majesty Queen was shared and celebrated by millions of people around the world. From the fans who lined the streets of London on that wet Tuesday morning to the families who gathered around their television sets from Manchester to Montreal, it was a day that touched millions of hearts. Some of the ways it was celebrated remain with us to this day.

The orb, sceptre and St Edward’s crown all featured in Her Majesty’s official coronation portrait and have become iconic symbols of her reign. In fact, they still play a familiar part in everyday life today. Post boxes, police helmets and UK passports all contain some of these symbols, and Royal Mint graphic designer Dominique Evans has captured them all in a seated portrait design to mark this 65th anniversary.

Acorns from oak trees in Windsor Great Park were sent to parks and gardens across the Commonwealth to grow into what are now mighty oaks themselves. And from the pre-decimal shillings of 1953 to this grand kilo, the nation’s coins have grown too. First introduced for the London 2012 Olympic Games, the kilo coin has become synonymous with important occasions. This edition displays Dominique Evans’ new design at its finest, its Proof finish highlighting every symbolic detail of The Queen sat beneath the vaulted ceiling of Westminster Abbey. It is presented in a Royal Mint case with a certificate that guarantees its authenticity. It comes with a booklet that tells the story of the coronation and The Queen herself, both then and now.