Milestones in the decimal coinage of Jersey

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In 1983 the UK introduced a new circulating denomination, the pound coin.  Jersey followed suit and, like the UK, Jersey varied the reverse design of the pound coin each year. The first series of designs honoured the twelve parishes of the island. The first design in this series shows the emblem of the parish of St Helier. The edge inscription on the coins reads "CAESAREA INSULA": this was the name given to the island by the Roman Antonius in AD 300; it means "Island of Jersey".

 

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The standard Maklouf effigy.

In 1985 the UK adopted a new effigy of Queen Elizabeth for its coins, which was used until the end of 1997. It was created by Raphael Maklouf and replaced Arnold Machin's effigy. Above you can see it on a UK 50 pence coin of 1992. Jersey did not adopt the Maklouf effigy, and continued to use the Machin effigy until the end of 1997. However, Jersey did use a variation of the Maklouf effigy for its collector coins only. This additional effigy had been created by Maklouf for use on special occasions, that is, for commemorative coins.

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Jersey, 50 pence, 1985.

The special (or uncouped) version of the Maklouf effigy, as seen on a Jersey collector 50 pence coin of 1985, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of liberation from the Nazis.

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After that, there were no further significant changes to the Jersey coinage in the 1980s.

In the 1990s, Jersey followed the UK in changing the specifications of some of its coins.

In 1990, Jersey reduced the size and weight of its 5p coin.

In 1992, it reduced the size and weight of its 10p coin.

In 1997, it reduced the size and weight of its 50p coin.

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In 1991 Jersey started a new series of reverse designs for its circulating pound coins, beginning with a depiction of the schooner "The Tickler".  There are six ships in the series, and each was designed by Royal Mint engraver Robert Evans. The series is still running, as our forum member Alan71 reports:

"The last ship design used, the Resolute from 1994, was repeated for the 1997 mint set and all subsequent circulation issues (1997, 1998, 2003, 2005 and 2006)."

The edge inscription on the coins reads "CAESAREA INSULA": this was the name given to the island by the Roman Antonius in AD 300; it means "Island of Jersey".

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Jersey 2 pound coin, dated 1997, from a mint set.

In 1998, Jersey introduced its first circulation two pound coin, which was bimetallic. This was in line with the UK, which had tried to introduce its own two pound coin in 1997; however, the electronic signature of the UK coins was wrong, so the issue of these coins was postponed until 1998.

By chance, the introduction of the Jersey two pound coin coincided with the introduction of the new effigy of the Queen, by Ian Rank Broadley. The effigy was also adopted in the UK in 1998. The coin in the image below is dated 2003, but the design has not changed since its introduction.

You will be lucky to find a Jersey two pound coin circulating on Jersey, as the population prefers notes to pound coins and two pound coins. However, if you ask at the bank, they will happily find one for you.

Jersey bimetallic two pounds dated 1997 exist - with the Machin effigy instead of the Maklouf effigy - but these were produced for mint sets only. See the image above.

The reverse of the Jersey two pound coin depicts the crests of the island's twelve parishes and was designed by Jersey artist Alan Copp. The reverse includes a latent image that shows "£2" in figures.

The edge inscription on ALL Jersey bimetallic two pound coins read: "CAESAREA INSULA CAESAREA INSULA".

 

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Jersey, 2 pounds, 1998.

The circulation version with the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of the Queen.

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Since then there have been no significant new developments in the standard coinage.

To post comments, criticisms, amendments etc. regarding this topic, please click on the link below:

Comments on "Milestones in the decimal coinage of Jersey".


This topic is part of a series about the decimal coins of the sterling area. To see the other topics in the series, click on the link below:

The Decimal Coins of the Sterling Area 


See also:

1] Jersey: architecture designs.

2] Coins of Britain's uninhabited overseas territories.

 

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Western Europe: Some pre-euro coinages issued after 1945.

01] Austria: pre-euro coinage from 1946 to 2001.

02] Belgian franc: from 1948 until the euro.

03] Coinage of Switzerland.

04] Cyprus: final coinage under British rule.

05] Finland: Wildlife series of the 1990s.

06] French coins from the 1950s until the introduction of the euro.

07] German coinage of the Allied occupation, 1945 to 1948.

08] Greece 1973: the fascinating story behind Series A and B.

09] Icelandic marine series, 1981 to date.

10] Italy's final pre-euro coinage.

11] Luxembourg's coinage after World War 2 but before the euro.

12] Malta's pre-euro coinage, 1972-2007.

13] Milestones in the coinage of the Netherlands.

14] Milestones in the decimal coinage of Gibraltar.

15] Milestones in the decimal coinage of Guernsey.

16] Milestones in the decimal coinage of Ireland.

17] Milestones in the decimal coinage of Jersey.

18] Milestones in the decimal coinage of the Isle of Man.

19] Milestones in the decimal coinage of the UK.

20] Norwegian wildlife series, 1958 to 1973.

21] Portugal's final pre-euro coin series.

22] Pre-euro Coinage of the Federal Republic of Germany.

23] Pre-euro coinage of the Republic of Greece, 1976 to 2001.

24] Republic of Cyprus: pre-euro coinage.

25] Spain: pre-euro coinage of King Juan Carlos I.