‘Graceful ageing’: Special coin honours Queen Elizabeth II’s service to community

The Royal Australian Mint is releasing a special edition coin celebrating the life of Queen Elizabeth II.

A special edition 50c coin commemorating the late Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her seven decades of service.

The Royal Australian Mint will release the coin, in fine silver proof and uncirculated finishes, on Thursday.

It will feature the six effigies of the Queen that have appeared on previous Australian coins.

Royal Australian Mint chief executive Leigh Gordon said the coin was a “study of graceful ageing” by one of the most recognisable female figureheads.

“Historically, coins bear witness to a monarch’s reign with their royal effigies appearing on the obverse,” he said.

“In keeping with that tradition, this exceptional coin showcases the Queen Elizabeth II memorial effigy by Jody Clark on the obverse.

“The Mint’s trademark storytelling is strongly represented on the coin’s reverse, which features a central design depicting the first six effigies, fanned above the Queen’s royal cypher.”

The central image is framed with lily of the valley — one of the Queen’s favourite flowers — and Australia’s national floral emblem, the golden wattle.

The coin commemorates the Queen’s decades of service. Picture: Supplied / Royal Australian Mint

History of the portraits of the Queen:

• Mary Gillick designed the first portrait, which appeared on pre-decimal coinage from 1953 to 1965;
• The first portrait of the Queen was designed by Arnold Machin in 1964 for the British Royal Mint. It was released in Australia in 1966, which preceded its first use on British coins in 1968;
• In 1982, Raphael Maklouf won a competition to design a new effigy that was then adopted on Australian coinage;
• A portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley appeared on UK coinage from 1998, with Australia adopting the effigy on some collector coins in 1998 and generally from 1999;
• To commemorate the Royal Visit in 2000, a portrait by Australian Vladimir Gottwald was approved for a once-only use;
• Ms Clark’s effigy is the sixth coin portrait to have been created during the Queen’s reign, appearing on Australian coins from 1999 until the Queen’s death on September 8 last year;
• Following the Queen’s death, Ms Clark’s portrait of the monarch was tweaked to include her years of reign.