5 pounds – Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

For Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 the Royal Mint has unveiled the only official UK £5 coin struck to mark the historic occasion, featuring two new and exclusive portraits of the monarch. Designed by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS to celebrate a remarkable royal milestone, the portraits encapsulate The Queen’s 60 years on the throne, a regal achievement matched only by the reign of Queen Victoria, the Queen’s great-great grandmother. The first of the new portraits shows a contemporary image of Her Majesty dressed in formal Garter Robes, captured with gravitas and stately bearing. The other portrait, inspired by the first portrait of The Queen to appear on coins from 1953, features a young monarch classically depicted, wearing a laurel crown alongside the Latin words Dirige Deus Gressus Meos – May God Guide My Steps.