About/Coin constellation/History contest/Coin Constellation-2012/Contest coins/Coin "Saint George and the Dragon"
Coin "Saint George and the Dragon"
| Name | Saint George and the Dragon |
| Presented by | The Royal Mint |
| Nominal value | 5 pounds |
| Metal | Gold 916,7° |
| Mintage | 1000 |
| Production quality | Brilliant uncirculated |
| Description of obverse and reverse | One of the most highly anticipated annual coin issues from the Royal Mint - the 2011 UK £5 Brilliant Uncirculated Gold Coin is struck in 22 carat gold and features the classic Benedetto Pistrucci design of St George and the dragon. The Royal Mint Engraving Team has used original tools from the 1820s and 1870s and through a careful process has created new tools which are true to the original designs. As a result, each sovereign contains the classic detail and relief of Pistrucci’s original design which is regarded throughout the world as a masterpiece of numismatic art. This 5 Gold BU coin is also highly distinctive in that it displays Pistrucci’s name in full. |
| A brief annotation | The nineteenth-century coinage reform re-introduced the gold sovereign and also saw the origin of what was destined to become one of the most enduring of all numismatic designs - the acclaimed rendering of St George and the dragon by Benedetto Pistrucci - and a subject that has inspired and fascinated artists and sculptors for centuries. While the new sovereign made its debut in 1817, it was 1820 before the first £5 gold coin was struck. It was a magnificent coin, suitable more as a presentation piece than as a coin for general circulation and it was not until 1887 that the £5 gold coins were at last issued to the public. The enormous demand was such that the Chancellor of the Exchequer felt obliged to assure the House of Commons that the Mint would eventually satisfy every request and, in the event, more than 53,000 pieces were struck. With few exceptions, Pistrucci’s St George has dominated the sovereign family ever since. |
| Designer | Obverse designer: Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS; Reverse designer: Paul Day |
| Producer | The Royal Mint |
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