Bermuda, BVI: Unseen portraits of Elizabeth II

[<k>]

David Cornell, the British artist and sculptor who designed the Diana memorial five pound coin for the UK, has kindly sent me images of some unseen portraits of Queen Elizabeth II that he also designed. He says, "The Bermuda and British Virgin Island coins were produced as coins whilst I was at the Franklin Mint. The dies and coins were all completed and I always believed that they had been issued but checking, I find no confirmation of this."

I have Mr Cornell's permission to display the plasters here, and he also has permission from the Franklin Mint to do so.

[<k>]

Bermuda portrait, dated 1975.

[<k>]

British Virgin Islands portrait, dated 1975.

[<k>]

I think these are superb portraits, and it's just a pity they were never used.  What do the members think?

Previously, I have only ever seen the Queen portrayed wearing that tiara on collector coins of New Zealand.

See the coin above, dated 1979. The portrait of the Queen was by the late James Berry of New Zealand.

[Figleaf]

Another excellent research piece, <k>. Thank you.

The hair, the tiara and the ear rings and the necklace are the same, I think. The major difference is of course the position of the shoulders and the head, rather than bust cutoff. However, I think I also see a difference in the nose. My impression is that the original portrait was changed below the neck, with minor changes in the design.

I can imagine that the original pose was considered "unnatural". However, to me, the result is not more relaxed, but stiffer. That may have been an advantage in the eyes of the powers that be, though. I don't know which nose job was more realistic at the time, but I find the adjusted nose more sharp and prickly. I suspect that both portrait are flattering, but since I don't know, I'll refrain from comparing it with later portraits. That said, I do agree that the presentation of the artwork is superb.

Peter

[squarecoinman]

Super art work , I like it very very much . and it is a Pity that they were not used .

also great detective work from your side K , respect

and nice from the FM that they gave permission

Squarecoinman

[africancoins]

Well done getting those images of that proposed portrait design. They look quite good as designs and have been well pictured.

Thanks Mr Paul Baker

[malj1]

I too like the artwork very much but feel the New Zealand design is completely different.

I have combined the two images to highlight the differences.

Note especially the angle of the tiara and different rendering of the hair.

[<k>]

I only mentioned the NZ portrait because it is the only other one where the Queen is portrayed wearing that tiara. I should stress that the unrealised designs are by David Cornell and the NZ one is by the late James Berry. The NZ portrait has no connection to Mr Cornell's designs, apart from a conceptual one in my head.

I illustrated the NZ portrait only to show that I thought that it was the only issued design to show the Queen in that tiara. If anybody knows of any others, I would be interested to know of them.

Anyway, my apologies if I was not clear enough. Your comments are of course much appreciated. There seems to be a consensus that the unrealised designs are superb.

[Abhay]

Just Googled for Queen Coin Tiara.

I came up with this Diamond Jubilee Gold and Diamond Coin, with Tiara.

The price tag is GBP 125,000

Abhay

[<k>]

That's a very different tiara from the one above. The portrait would fit here, though:

Portraits of QEII that are only used on commemorative coins

[<k>]

Here is another version of the same portrait.

It was evidently intended to commemorate the Queen's Silver Jubilee of 1977.

For which country or countries was intended is unknown.

However, it was never finished.

[squarecoinman]

pitty it was never used , it is really fantastic