1990 Queen Mother 90th Birthday Five Pound Crown Brilliant U

1990 queen mother 90th birthday five pound crown brilliant uncirculated coin in folder this crown design was the first introduced by the royal mint in the modern denomination of five pounds. First minted in 1544, crown’s had traditionally been valued at one quarter of a pound, or five shillings. Even during the decimalisation of 1971, the crown maintained its value, switching to twenty five pence. With the increasing price of metal and manufacturing costs, the production of crowns at such a low face value was not economical for the mint, and so the new value of five pounds was introduced. Today, the crown is almost exclusively used for commemorative coins such as began with this design in 1990. Born in 1900, elizabeth angela marguerite bowes-lyon came to prominence when she married the future king george vi in 1923. Following the abdication of edward viii, she acted as queen consort between 1936 and 1952 until her daughter, elizabeth ii, acceded to the throne. In her widowhood she was affectionately known as the queen mother, and she maintained her lifelong passions for outdoor pursuits, especially fishing and horse-racing. Her ninetieth birthday was celebrated by the royal mint in 1990 with a range of five pound coins, including this brilliant uncirculated example. Its reverse, designed by leslie durbin, features a delicate, decorative double e cypher to represent both elizabeth’s, the queen mother and the queen. This is positioned below a royal crown, and between a rose and thistle to represent her scottish and english origins. The queen mother’s image is paired with the third official numismatic portrait of her daughter, her majesty queen elizabeth ii, by raphael maklouf. Struck in the same cupro-nickel as the coins in your change, these bu crowns are finished to a high standard to make them more attractive and their designs more appreciable. The five pound comes in its original presentation sleeve with a wealth of information and pictures about the queen mother; in a standard weight of 28.28 Grams and diameter of 38.61 Millimetres.