Elizabeth II on British coins: five profiles of the queen

Over the 70 years of the reign of Elizabeth II, five of her profiles have changed on British coins - sometimes idealized, sometimes realistic.After her death, new coins should be minted with the image of her son King Charles III

Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II at a very young age. Her father King George VI died on February 6, 1952, when Elizabeth was only 25 years old. During her reign, she became the oldest of the monarchs of the world, she occupied her throne longer than any other living kings and queens. And in England, no one ruled longer than Elizabeth, even her great-great-grandmother Victoria, who was queen for “only” 63 years.

it is not surprising that the portraits of Elizabeth on coins minted for decades, the British had to change from time to time. To, so to speak, correspond to the original. However, the Royal Mint did this not so often: over the 70 years of the reign of Elizabeth II, only five of her profiles have changed on British coins (Victoria, however, has only three). Moreover, the average Briton can still find four of them in his wallet today, so subjects may well see what their queen looked like in 1968 or 1985. Or make a remake of Gustav Klimt's famous painting "Three Ages of a Woman" from the little things found in the pockets. And even surpass it.

Photo: royalmint.comcomcomcomcom

Age one

Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen of Great Britain (as well as CANADA, Australia, etc.) in February 1952, but she was officially crowned only on June 2, 1953. In the same year, the first coins with the portrait of the queen were put into circulation. According to a long tradition, monarchs on British coins face the opposite direction from where their predecessor was looking. And since Elizabeth's father George VI looked to the left, the daughter turned to the right.

The minting of new coins was preceded by serious work. It was necessary to decide how exactly the royal profile would look on them. 17 artists presented their works to the COURT of the committee of advisers of the Royal Mint, headed by the husband of Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh Philip.

As a result, Philip chose a sketch by Mary Gillick, who proposed to depict a young Elizabeth in a laurel wreath with ribbons instead of a crown. Having received approval, Gillick was able to get into Buckingham Palace, where the Queen herself posed for her for about an hour. The Mint website notes that Elizabeth asked the artist to try not to look too much like Julius Caesar in a laurel wreath. Well, Gillick obviously did it: with such seductive shoulders, the Roman dictator was definitely not depicted on coins.

Mary Gillick (Photo: royalmintmuseum.org.uk)uk)uk)royalmintmuseum.org.uk)royalmintmuseum.org.uk)

In 1953, Gillick's portraits of Elizabeth appeared on coins in denominations of 1 farthing (1/4 penny), halfpenny and penny, 3 and 6 pence, 1 and 2 shillings, on crowns and half-crowns, and later on gold sovereigns. On all the coins, next to the portrait, one could see an inscription announcing that before you was Elizabeth II, Queen by the grace of God and defender of the faith.

Photo: hattonsoflondon.comcomcom

Gillick's portrait of Elizabeth II was minted on the so-called Mondy money (Maundy money) - special silver coins intended for a religious ceremony on Maundy Thursday. By tradition, the monarch meets every year on Holy Week with a group of his subjects, parishioners from different churches of the country, and hands them a white wallet with silver coins in denominations of 1 penny, as well as 2, 3 and 4 pence. In this case, the total nominal value of the gift is equal to the age of the queen. Thus, in 2021, 95 pence was put into the wallet. However, in 2020 and 2021, the solemn meeting with the Queen was canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic , and the wallets were then sent by mail.

Photo: APAPAP

Age two

Years passed. In 1956, farthings were no longer minted in Britain, and in the 1960s, preparations began in the country to transfer the currency system to a decimal basis. As part of the reform, it was decided to divide the pound sterling not into 240, but into 100 pence, and in order to prepare the British population for changes, it was decided to issue the first coins of the new sample in advance. Officially, Decimal Day (D-Day) happened on February 15, 1971, but the first coins - 5 and 10 new pence - were put into circulation as early as 1968. In this case, the first was equated to the old shilling, and the second to the florin, or two shillings.

The new and old coins were the same size and ended up in the same purses, and to make it easier to distinguish them from each other, an updated profile of the queen was placed on 5 and 10 pence. In the new portrait, which was created by sculptor Arnold Machin back in 1964 and then approved by Prince Philip, Elizabeth looks more regal. This is no longer a young girl in a wreath and ribbons, but a young lady, and on her HEAD is a diamond tiara, a wedding gift from her grandmother, Queen Mary. Following the example of Gillik, Machin depicted Elizabeth on the shoulders - this is how monarchs were usually depicted on coins in the 19th century.

Photo: rct.ukUKUK

“With charm and dignity, but without sentimentality,” the sculptor described his queen.

Photo: royalmint.comcomcom

In October 1969, Machin's portrait appeared on a new coin with an unusual shape: the 10 shilling banknote was replaced by a heptagonal 50 pence coin.

Photo: 24carat.co.ukUKUK

On February 15, 1971, on D-Day, three more coins were issued with a new portrait of the Queen - halfpenny, penny and 2p. Later they were also joined by coins of 20 and 25 pence, as well as £1. Small coins with portraits by Gillick were quickly withdrawn from circulation, larger ones (shillings, florins) continued to circulate for several more years, and crowns equated to 25 pence are formally still considered legal tender.

Age three

In 1982, the British Mint announced a competition for a new portrait of the Queen. 17 artists and sculptors presented about 40 options, of which the work of Rafael Maklouf was recognized as the most promising. He created his sketches from photographs of Elizabeth II, but after the competition the queen posed for him. At the same time, Maklouf himself later said that the queen was amazed that in order to complete the portrait, it took him less time than some photographers to prepare for shooting.

The new portrait differed from the works of Gillick and Machin in a truly royal scale. Elizabeth on it is depicted in a diamond diadem, made for the coronation in 1821 of George IV. The diadem of gold and silver contains 1,333 diamonds of various sizes, and it was in it that Elizabeth went to Westminster Abbey for her own coronation in June 1953. In addition, if in the first two portraits the queen did not have any “extra” jewelry, then a necklace and earrings appeared here.

Photo: rct.ukUKUK

Coins with a new portrait came out in 1985, when the queen was already almost 60 years old, and critics subjected the work to severe evaluation. Like, Elizabeth II on the new coins looks too youthful. Maklouf, in response, stated that he did not create a portrait, but a "royal and ageless" symbol.

Photo: royalmint.comcomcom

Age Four

The creator of the next portrait, which appeared on British coins in 1998, proceeded from a completely different principle. “There is no need to hide the queen's maturity. She doesn't need to flatter. She is a 70-year-old woman,” Ian Rank-Broadley explained his approach.

“It is important that the portrait be recognizable and not overly idealized,” the artist added.

In the new portrait on the head of Elizabeth II, the “grandmother's tiara” reappeared - the same as on the coins of the 1968 model. The necklace disappeared as the artist cut off the neck to enlarge the queen's face, and the earrings were replaced with others.

Photo: royalmint.comcomcom

Age five

The last portrait of Elizabeth II to date appeared on British coins in 2015. On it, the queen is again in a diamond diadem. Explaining the change, artist Jody Clark explained that he wanted his work to be distinctly different from the previous one, and that Her Majesty had "not aged too much" over the years.

“I hope that I correctly portrayed her majesty and conveyed the look as I intended,” said Clark, calling each of the works of his predecessors “strong in its own way.”

Photo: royalmint.comcomcom

Portraits created for the British Mint were also used on coins minted in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other countries.

Following the Queen's death, the Bank of England declared that banknotes bearing her image would remain legal tender. "Further announcement on existing Bank of England notes will be made after the period of mourning has ended," the bank said in a statement. The Financial Times, citing the Royal Mint, reports that the previously minted coins will remain in circulation. As noted by The Guardian, there are currently £4.5 billion banknotes in circulation, with a total value of £80 billion. The newspaper indicates that their replacement could take up to two years. As for the coins, it may take even longer to change them, since historically their change took place "organically", the coins in circulation were not recalled.

The Reserve Bank of Australia also said the Queen's notes will remain legal tender. The Australian Royal Mint expects new coins to be issued in 2023.

A spokesman for the Bank of Canada told BLOOMBERG that the notes with the image of Elizabeth II will remain in circulation until the end of their life. “There is no legal requirement to change the design within a set period of time when there is a change of monarch,” a spokesman for the regulator said.