On 2nd June 1953, a young queen barely 27 years old, seated in the King Edward’s Chair as so many before her, took on the profound responsibilities of state when she was crowned Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey. An estimated 27 million people in Britain watched the ceremony on television whilst vast crowds lined the procession route in spite of the rain. No one could have known she would go on to become Britain’s best loved and longest reigning monarch.
This was the fourth and final coronation of the 20th century. Due to the queen’s incredible longevity, Britain would not see another for a full seventy years – in fact, until 2023. In tribute to an exceptional queen, and the 70th Anniversary of her Coronation in June 2023, a new series of commemorative gold sovereigns has been announced. Introducing the 2023 Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Anniversary Gold Sovereign Range, and in particular, the one-eighth sovereign…
Commemorative gold sovereign coins are issued sparingly, to mark events of major national and royal significance. They have been produced to mark anniversaries of the reigns of other great British monarchs such as Queen Victoria, King George III and King George V, and now, Queen Elizabeth II will take her place amongst this illustrious group. On them, the Queen appears in a graceful and stately Equestrian Portrait where she is depicted on horseback. This is a direct link with the very first commemorative coin of her reign, which was a special crown coin produced for her Coronation in 1953: it too featured an Equestrian Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
Most of the coins in this series are the first of their kind ever to feature an Equestrian Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, of the type first used on the queen’s 1953 Coronation Crown. Monarchs are rarely portrayed in any style other than the traditional facial profile portrait – in fact, not since the reign of King Charles I had a British monarch been depicted in this way. Well-known for her horsemanship, this unusual design celebrates our late queen’s stately grace and poise on horseback.
It may surprise you to learn that Britain was still emerging from post-war austerity, so there were no gold sovereigns issued for the 1953 coronation – instead, a special Equestrian Portrait of the queen adorned the Coronation Crown coin. It is this style of design that now features on these first-of-a-kind sovereigns, produced to mark the 70th anniversary of that coronation.
Other versions of the Equestrian Portrait were used later in her reign on the Silver Jubilee Crown of 1977, and again on two further commemorative crown sized coins for the Golden and Platinum jubilees in 2002 and 2022 respectively. Now, as we mark the anniversary of Elizabeth II’s coronation in her absence for the first time, a graceful Equestrian Portrait appears once again, bringing the queen’s extraordinary reign full circle.
The obverse of these coins depicts King Charles III, and he faces the opposite direction to his mother, maintaining a tradition that dates back to the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the reign of the our new king’s namesake – King Charles II.
Featuring the Equestrian Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, riding sidesaddle on her horse and wearing uniform for the Trooping the Colour ceremony on the reverse, this is the first one-eighth sovereign ever to feature this portrait. Secure yours HERE.