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Elizabeth II 3rd Portrait

Queen Elizabeth II 3rd portrait appears on gold sovereigns that were issued every year from 1985 to 1997, with the exception of the 500th anniversary of the coins in 1989, which produced a special one-year edition. This commemorative sovereign was inspired by the original sovereign design of 1489 which Bernard Sindall adapted and modernized. The obverse shows Elizabeth seated on a throne facing forwards, with the reverse depicting the Royal Arms shield topped with the Royal Crown and superimposed on a double rose. Interestingly this coin was the only sovereign ever to have the denomination. Addionally the sovereigns struck at the Sydney Mint also differed in that they had 1 pound on them but the design and makeup was totally different to the Imperial coins.

It should be noted, however, that all of these sovereigns were issued only as proofs – not a single bullion was made for circulation during this time.

Conceived by Raphael Maklouf, the Elizabeth II 3rd Portrait shows a confident queen in her middle years. Facing sideways as always, Elizabeth II bears the crown high on her head and the hint of a smile at the corner of her lips. The words on the obverse begin to curve around her, yet they are broken into two separate arcs with the queen set proudly in the middle. To her left, it reads “Elizabeth II”, and to her right, “Dei Gra Reg F D”. The coin’s reverse displays Pistrucci’s famous theme of George and the Dragon.

As a rule, the sovereigns may experience wear in places where the design is raised above the rest of the coin, because these are the areas of greatest exposure to physical contact. The middle of both the obverse and reverse sides falls under this category, which means certain details, like the horse’s musculature, may begin to fade with excessive handling.

Even though these gold sovereigns are not very old and are only available as proofs, they can still be deceptively difficult to procure because of the low number released each year. This is especially true for 1993, when a little over 6,000 of them were minted. The other sovereigns from early in decade might also be hard to come by, including 1991, 1992, and 1994, each of which yielded around 7,000 coins.