Gibraltar: Queen Mother's 80th Birthday

[eurocoin]

In 1980 a crown coin was issued to commemorate the Queen Mother's 80th birthday. The Royal Mint asked Christopher Ironside to make the design for the coin. The proposed designs that he submitted to the Royal Mint can be seen below.

[eurocoin]

The Castle and Key of Gibraltar.

[eurocoin]

The Queen Mother's shielded crest.

[eurocoin]

Portrait of the Queen Mother.

[eurocoin]

Full coat of arms of the Queen Mother.

[eurocoin]

None of the proposed designs was ever used as Spink came up with its own design for the coin which was made by Philip Nathan.

[<k>]

The issued design was far better than the unadopted ones. 

[Figleaf]

Very much agreed. In many of the cases you have shown I thought the same thing, though in this case the gap is especially large. I wonder if the UK mint has created - accidentally or on purpose - a coterie of designers that know how to please the powers that be. Not without talent, but let's call it flexible towards a conservative taste. The big exception is the John Lobban / Avril Vaughan team, but how many of their coin designs were accepted?

Peter

[<k>]

From the 1960s to the early 1990s, the Royal Mint had a policy of assigning the same artist to particular territories / countries. Mr Ironside did many of Gibraltar's early collector designs. Around 1980 or slightly later, Mr Ironside decided that he was owed royalties on the UK proof sets, since his designs appeared on them. He lost his case, and he may possibly have been out of favour with the Royal Mint for a while after that. However, he did later produce the designs for Singapore's floral series of circulation coins, first issued in 1986.