MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands issues 50p coin to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth

A brand new 50p coin to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has been issued on behalf of the Falkland Islands government, by the Pobjoy Mint.

Princess Elizabeth was staying at Treetops in Kenya with her husband Prince Philip when she heard of the death of her father King George VI on February 6, 1952. Without delay, the Princess returned home where she was proclaimed ‘Queen Elizabeth II’. The new Queen‘s succession to the throne was proclaimed at an Accession Council. Nine months later, Her Majesty attended her first State Opening of Parliament where she ready and signed the Accession declaration.

In 1952, British sculptor Mary Gaskell Gillick OBE’s effigy design was selected from a field of 17 to be used on general-circulation coinage for the new Queen Elizabeth II, first issued in 1953, one year after the Queen acceded to the throne. This portrait is called the First Definitive UK Coin Portrait. Gillick worked on the portrait between March and October 1952, with one sitting and close supervision by the Duke of Edinburgh. Gillick’s design was notable for portraying the Queen uncrowned and was the last to be used on pre-decimal UK coinage.

Therefore it was thought as very apt to feature a double portrait of Her Majesty including the first and current effigy used in coinage over 70 years of service. The first effigy designed by Mary Gillick and the current effigy produced exclusively by the Pobjoy Mint.

The design also incorporates the official emblem for The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which was selected as the winning entry in a competition run in conjunction with the Victoria & Albert Museum.

The Platinum Jubilee is being celebrated in the United Kingdom throughout June 2022. This is the first time that any British monarch has celebrated a Platinum Jubilee.

Issued on behalf of the Falkland Islands, the coin has been produced in Cupro Nickel Diamond Finish and Proof Sterling Silver. The obverse of the coin features an effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II produced exclusively by Pobjoy Mint.

The Cupro Nickel Diamond finish coin is presented in a special presentation pack featuring Windsor Castle. The Proof Sterling Silver coin is presented in an acrylic box complemented with a sleeve using the special design. The coin specifications are metal, .925 Silver, Cu.Ni, with a 27,30 mm diameter and a weight of 8 grams. The issue limits, Silver, 170 and Cu-Ni, 2,700