P.J.Lynch, the acclaimed Irish illustrator, has been given the task of creating three new five pound coins celebrating ‘The Queen’s Reign’. Taking this project firmly by the horns, he has decided to do this by highlighting three key areas in his designs –
1 – The awards and honours the Queen gives to people for their service
2 – Her Majesty’s commitment and support to charities
3 – All of the work the Queen does for the Commonwealth
To make all of this more personal, Mr Lynch has chosen to incorporate the Queen’s signature as well (it is unclear at the time of writing if this will feature on all three releases, but I am guessing it probably will).
Yes, it is yet another series of royal coins and yet another release to celebrate the Queen’s time on the throne. And artwork-wise? Well, it is a far cry from P.J.Lynch’s children’s’ books…… but it is ‘okay’ as far as this type of coin goes. The background on this first in the series is very reminiscent of the ‘Victoria Cross Medal’ fifty pence from 2006….. which is kind of inevitable if you are going to use medals in a coin design I suppose.
All in all, I cannot make myself feel excited about this release. I just can’t. I personally feel it offers nothing of any great significance and it most certainly does not stand out like some of Mr Lynch’s Rackham-inspired pictures of years gone by.
Sorry, but this is purely nondescript for me :/ I can only hope that the next two designs are more exciting.
Specifications:
Brilliant Uncirculated £5 Coin –
Alloy – Cupro-nickel
Diameter – 38.61mm
Weight – 28.28g
Mintage – Unlimited*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – P. J. Lynch
Silver Proof £5 Coin –
Alloy – 925 Ag
Diameter – 38.61mm
Weight – 28.28g
Mintage – 4,160*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – P. J. Lynch
Silver Proof Piedfort £5 Coin –
Alloy – 925 Ag
Diameter – 38.61mm
Weight – 56.56g
Mintage – 1,510*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – P. J. Lynch
Gold Proof £5 Coin –
Alloy – 916.7 Au
Diameter – 38.61mm
Weight – 39.94g
Mintage – 268*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – P. J. Lynch
Quarter Ounce Gold Proof £25 Coin –
Alloy – 999.9 Au
Diameter – 22.00mm
Weight – 7.80g
Mintage – 510*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – P. J. Lynch
*All mintages quoted are MCM (Maximum Coin Mintage). This means this is the most coins that may be issued. Ultimately, it is down to The Royal Mint to decide how many are minted so the reality is that each number given may turn out to be lower.
© Article and images (except where stated) copyright Mik Smith 2022
