Editor’s note: In 2002, the Royal Mint selected a design by Tom Phillips for the £5 coin to be circulated in commemoration of the Queen’s Coronation Jubilee.
The coin was unveiled by the Royal Mint on 17 December 2002, and on 28 April 2003 it went into circulation.
The Royal Mint’s press release is as follows:
The Coronation Anniversary Crown recalls one of the most exciting royal occasions in modern history. It was a day when thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate and millions more watched on black and white television sets, making it the first major ‘live’ televised broadcast by the BBC. Nearly eight million people viewed the Coronation from their own homes, another ten and a half million watched the ceremony in the homes of friends and a further one and a half million packed into cinemas and halls.
The Coronation ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey and the Queen was crowned to cries of ‘God Save Elizabeth, Long Live Queen Elizabeth’. The Queen left to the sound of the national anthem and to enthusiastic cheers of support from the people outside.
The beautiful Coronation Anniversary Crown – designed by distinguished artist Tom Phillips CBE, RA – features on the reverse the carefully inscribed words GOD SAVE THE QUEEN and the obverse depicts a youthful and elegant portrait of the Queen. The lively pattern of the lettering combined with the unusual portrait conveys an air of celebration, a reminder of the mood of festivity that swept through the country in the summer of 1953.The £5 Coronation anniversary coin is available from the Royal Mint on 0845 6088300, via the website at www.royalmint.com and from Post Offices, at its face value of £5.
The coin is not intended for everyday use but is, rather, a commemorative keepsake of an historic event. Versions of the crown struck in gold and silver to Proof or Brilliant Uncirculated standards (a higher quality finish than the ordinary circulating coin) can be obtained directly from the Royal Mint (Tel: 01443 623456 or www.royalmint.com).
To view the full press release from the Royal Mint, click here.
See also: Adventures of a Crown.
Exclusive to tomphillips.co.uk, 2003.