UK 1953: unadopted prototype designs of Elizabeth II

[<k>]

The following images come from the website of The Royal Mint Museum (UK).

I have edited the images for extra clarity.

The Royal Mint Museum is well worth a visit.

[<k>]

UK shilling patterns.   Left: England; right: Scotland.

Here you see the first pattern shillings of 1953.

One represents England, the other Scotland.

They were designed by Edgar Fuller.


Images © The Royal Mint Museum.

[<k>]

UK shilling patterns.   Left: England; right: Scotland.
 
Here you see the next pattern shillings of 1953.

One represents England, the other Scotland.

They were designed by William Gardner.


Images © The Royal Mint Museum.

[<k>]

The issued shillings.

[<k>]

UK 6 pence pattern of 1963.

Image © The Royal Mint Museum.

[<k>]

The issued 6 pence coin.

[<k>]

The English shilling pattern is on the left.

Look at the English shilling pattern.

It resembles the issued 2 shlllings design somewhat.




UK, 2 shillings, 1953.

[<k>]

Images © The Royal Mint Museum.

Here you see the preliminary designs for the 1953 Coronation 5 shillings coin.

They were designed by Gilbert Ledward.




The issued UK Coronation 5 shillings coin of 1953.

See also:  UK: the Queen on horseback.

[<k>]

See the original document on the Royal Mint Museum's website:

Photographs and designs to be considered at the 126th Meeting of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee.

My thanks to the staff of the Royal Mint Museum for providing the link to these images.

[Alan71]

It's interesting that some of the designs lack the "Fid Def", though some unnecessarily carry the denomination twice.

Presumably there was the possibility of moving the "Fid Def" to the obverse, to match the bronze coins.

What was the reasoning in having it on the reverse of the "silver" coins?  It's part of the monarch's titles, so why were they split between obverse and reverse, but not on the bronze coins?  Decimalisation certainly tidied that up.

[<k>]

Yes, on the Elizabethan predecimal coins, F.D. appears on the obverse of the farthing, penny and three pence, but on the higher denominations, which are all copper-nickel, FID DEF appears on the reverse. There are many ways to crack an egg, I suppose. Or maybe FID DEF was used to fill some of the blank space on the reverses of the higher denominations. But yes, consistency is best. Why didn't they think of that at the time, when examining the designs and legends?

[Figleaf]

In Tudor and Stuart times, the religious title was relevant, Since the ascent of the house of Hannover, it became an empty tradition only, all the more so because only the UK and Switzerland still used latin on coins at the time. At least Switzerland has a reason.

Peter

[<k>]

only the UK and Switzerland still used Latin on coins at the time. At least Switzerland has a reason.

Over half a million people in Wales speak Welsh on a daily basis. Some have no need to speak English. Admittedly the number of true native Irish and Scots Gaelic speakers in the UK is tiny.

[FosseWay]

On the placing of FID DEF - I think it was probably just for the banal reason that something needed to go there! I agree it does seem odd to have half the series with all the Queen's titles on the same side and half with them split over both. But the fact of splitting them is not new: especially under the Hanoverian monarchs who had extremely long titles, it was the norm for them to extend over both sides. Generally the most important bits - the monarch's name, and the "King/Queen by the grace of God" bit, were around the portrait, with the rest on the other side.

As to Latin - as <k> says, English is not the only language of the UK. Changing the titles to English would raise questions of selective inclusivity, while in the modern age it doesn't really matter what is written on the coins in terms of royal titles. The person's name is there plainly, as is their portrait, and any immediately relevant practical information is in English.

[<k>]

RELATED TOPICS 

The UK 1952 Mary Gillick and Cecil Thomas UNCROWNED effigies of QEII.

The unseen, unadopted, predecimal numismatic portraits of QEII.