What makes the 2017 Isle of Man £5 so interesting?
Last year, the coins of the Isle of Man made the headlines. Not only did all their circulation coins have a total redesign, the first in 13 years, they also announced that they would continue to issue ’round pound’ coins rather than opting to use the paper £1 note like both Jersey and Guernsey did.
The coins feature a new effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, created by designer and sculptor Jody Clark, which will also be used on all coins from Crown dependencies and Commonwealth countries. The outer description includes the Queen’s full title, country of issue and year of issue.
New effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
The iconic design of the 2017 Isle of Man £5 coin features the Triskelion (three armoured legs) which is arguably the most known symbol of the island and is included in both the coat of arms and the flag of the Isle of Man.
But while this fitting Triskelion design features on the reverse and the new effigy of Her Majesty the Queen features on the obverse, that’s not what makes this coin so interesting…
You may or may not know this about the Isle of Man…
The Isle of Man is in fact the only Crown dependency country that circulates their £5 coins, meaning you could find this coin in your change… and spend it!
But if you’re ever lucky enough to find one in your change I’m sure you won’t want to spend it, as it’s certain to have one of the lowest mintages for any British Isles circulation coin.
A further difference between this coin and the traditional UK commemorative £5 is the size…
Isle of Man £5 compared to UK £5
The IOM £5 coin is just over 6mm smaller in size at 32mm (UK £5s measure 38.61mm) and weighs in at just 11.7g (compared to 28.28g for a UK £5) so is reasonably light to carry around in your pocket or purse.
So tell us… would you spend this £5 coin if you found it on the Isle of Man?
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I have a friend who lives in the Isle of Man and he managed to get one for me and it’s a great edition to my coin collection as are the other new iom coins he has sent over, including the Harry and Megan wedding, 40 years and 60 yearsTT and the new £1, 50p, 20p etc
A lovely coin: The UK should take a lesson from the Isle of Man and make a smaller £5 coin available at face value (maybe a bi-metal one to reduce forgery). OK, it may not really get much circulation but it would put a stop to the many so called crown £5 coins that have not had a circulation issue available at face since about 2008, so they are not really a coin in my opinion.
Note that the paper Isle of Man £1 note is still issued and available at bank counters there, it just hardly circulates: I go for a break there every year and always get a batch to spend. I will also make sure I get some of the new £5 coin to try out on my break this September.
I have a lot of 50pence peices all different kinds woundering were to sell them instead of eBay and i have AK1775 five Pound Note and a lot more over a thousand pound in fivers and tenners I have a few on eBay any advise pls welcome
Hi Lorraine, you might want to take a look at the British Numismatics Trade Association as they can help you sell your coins and notes or put them up for auction. Best of luck!