5 pounds - 250th Anniversary of Royal Academy

For 250 years, the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) has been at the forefront of championing the arts in Britain through education and exhibition. 2018 sees the RA250 celebrations – a significant moment where an iconic British institution reaches 250 years of supporting and promoting the arts. To mark this occasion, the RA and The Royal Mint have collaborated on a £5 silver Proof coin. Designed by Sir David Chipperfield RA, who also led the redevelopment of the RA by linking Burlington House and Burlington Gardens to create more space for art, education and debates, the coin features the facade of Burlington House, the familiar entrance for millions of art lovers, artists and architects.

This is an architectural detail of the main facade of Burlington House taken from an engraving in the third volume of Vitruvius Britannicus, the influential architectural treatise by Colen Campbell.
The captured section of the engraving includes recognisable features of the RA building before the additional storey was added.
The four categories of the RA are directly captured or referenced: architects, sculptors, painters and engravers, printmakers and draughtsmen. The text encircles and frames the scene.”
Sir David Chipperfield RA