Description
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 when 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 hundredth birthday was celebrated by The Royal Mint in 2000 with a range of Five Pound coins, including this Piedfort silver proof example. Its reverse features a tiara-wearing left-facing portrait of Elizabeth by sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley.
In a nod to her enduring popularity, crowds cheer behind her, some dressed in Victorian garb and others in modern clothing, indicating the eras she lived through. Her popularity was evident in the swathes of flowers left by her London residence every year on her birthday, and the crowds gathering. Her signature appears below the portrait. The Queen Mother’s image is paired with a portrait of her daughter, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by the same artist on the obverse.
This is the official coinage portrait in use between 1998 and 2015. Struck .925 sterling silver, this Crown coin weighs 56.56 grams and has a diameter of 38.61 millimetres.
ONLY 20,000 were issued
