Portrait of a Queen

Since her coronation in 1953, Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on British coinage and the coinage of the countries of which she is Head of State. The portrait is updated to reflect the Queen’s age and change in appearance. Four different effigies have been used on British coins and those of most other countries in the realm or commonwealth.

The Mary Gillick portrait was largely in use from 1953 until decimalization in Britain and Australia and roughly 1965 in most other countries such as Canada. It is one of only two portraits in regular use on coins that does not feature a crown.

Cecil Thomas designed a ‘realm portrait’ which is similar in nature and appears in the same context as that of George VI who was king before and father to Queen Elizabeth II. They bear the same crown and most of the designs of the British and realm coinage didn’t change- as is normal custom.

Arnold Machin provided the second common portrait of the Queen- this one with a crown. This was in use on all British, Australian, New Zealand ‘new’ decimal coins and in Canada. This was the most widely used portrait in all British Territorial coinage issuing bodies around the world to date. Unlike the other three common portraits, there was no variation on this portrait in any part of the Commonwealth.

Machin’s portrait is said to be a favorite of the Queen herself. When approached to pose for an updated portrait, she was most concerned about the quality of the new portrait not living up to the standards of Machin’s work.

The Machin portrait also has the distinction of longevity over the other three common portraits. It was in use for nineteen years (five more than the common portrait in use at present, as of 2011).

The third portrait comes from Raphael Maklouf and began roughly the same time everywhere between 1985 and 1986. There is a variation on the common design of the third portrait used in Britain for parts of the Commonwealth and territories; otherwise, this portrait was universal to coinage bearing the Queen’s effigy.

Canada began using a portrait designed by Dora de Pedery-Hunt in 1990. It is similar to Maklouf’s in design, but differs in orientation of the monarch. Side-by-side comparisons reveal the difference.

Maklouf era ‘realm portrait’ used for a number of commonwealth coin portraits. It replaced the Machin portrait.

The fourth and presently used effigy is the work of Ian Rank-Broadly, which has been in use on British coins since 1998. This portrait represents the first and only occurance of the designer’s initials appearing outside and separate from the effigy itself.

Canada began using a portrait similar to the Maklouf by Dora dePedery-Hunt in 1990.

In 2003, a new portrait was commissioned in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation. It is by Susanna Blunt and is in use presently, but is unique to Canada. One of the more noticeable difference, aside from the actual portrait is that the Queen does not bear a crown- unlike any other presently used portrait in the world.

There are a couple variations on the present Rank-Broadly design, but none are common to circulation coins. This portrait (right) is used on a small number of commonwealth coins, including Cook Islands.

Not all of the coins bearing the effigy of Elizabeth II have changed their portraits to reflect the age of the Queen. Maundy money in Britain still retains the first Gillick portrait. Belize uses the Cecil Thomas ‘realm portrait’ on fractional coins and the Maklouf portrait on the one dollar coin.

A few coin portraits of the Queen exist on an individual basis- appearing on only one coin or one denomination- separate from the typical circulation coins:

	New Zealand issued a one dollar coin between 1979 and 1982 with such an irregular portrait. Each of the four coins have a separate portrait of the Queen from the other circulation coins issued in New Zealand during this time. This departure from the normal portrait was to commemorate the Royal Visit. The coins issued just before (1978) and just after (1983) these four, carry the Machin portrait.
	Australia issued an irregular portrait on the occasion of the Queen’s visit in 2000 on the 50-cent coin. Vladimir Gotwald was the designer of this portrait and it was one of the finalists for the 1998 update to the Queen’s effigy.
	For the duel purposes of increasing circulation and popularity of the Canadian 50-cent coin, and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation, Canada used a variation on the Cecil Thomas realm portrait. This portrait was only used in 2003 and circulated along side the new Canadian portrait of 2003.
	Gibraltar produced coins with a Maklouf variation in 2004 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the territory’s capture. This portrait was used for four years. The coins issued just before (2003) and just after (2008) the four-year commemoration, carry the Rank-Broadly portrait.
	A 2003 British five pound coin bore this portrait in honor of 50 years as Queen.

In 2008 and 2009, the isolated South Atlantic British Territory constituent of Tristan da Cunha which is part of the territories St. Helena and Ascension Island, issued coins bearing unique portraits of the Queen; a different portrait in both years. The denominations of the issue are 1/2p, 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 25p.

2008 Tristan da Cunha portrait	2009 Tristan da Cunha portrait

The Gillick and Maklouf portraits each lasted twelve years. The present portrait has been in use (as of 2011) for fourteen years. Given the upcoming 60th anniversary of her reign, it is reasonable to assume that a new portrait may be forthcoming.

During the course of the historic reign of Elizabeth II, the number of countries producing coins bearing her image decreased sharply. None of the coins that bear her portrait today are produced for circulation in precious metal. The last of these coins were mostly debased by 1965, with a few larger denominations, made in part of silver, existing only a few more years. In fact, the coins produced today represent the lowest intrinsic value in history with steel as the primary metal in content.

At one point, just over half the coins in production for circulation were made of silver. Now, only commemorative coins and special editions are silver.