New UK £5 coin issued to celebrate Her Majesty’s 70th Wedding Anniversary

On the 20th November, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh will celebrate their Platinum Wedding Anniversary – that’s an incredible 70 years of marriage (or 25,568 days to be exact) and a first in British royal history. 

Her Majesty the Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at their Wedding in 1947

In honour of the occasion, The Royal Mint issued a brand new £5 coin – featuring a specially commissioned double portrait of the couple.

The coin marks the longest marriage in royal history, and a very personal milestone for the couple.  But it’s also the RAREST EVER Royal anniversary and is of huge significance to collectors around the world.

The incredibly rare anniversary few of us know about

Although there are no official statistics to back it up, it seems likely that only around 30 couples will join the Queen and Prince Philip in celebrating their Platinum Wedding Anniversary this year.  Or to put it another way – just 60 people in the UK will mark 70 years of marriage in 2017 – that literally makes each of them one in a million!

The Royal Mint has commissioned John Bergdahl to create the reverse design of the royal couple on horseback while the obverse features a special conjoined portrait by Etienne Millner.

The royal couple have a love of horses so it is only fitting that the coin depicts the Queen riding her favourite horse ‘Burmese’ with her husband Prince Philip by her side. The special conjoined portrait of Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness Prince Philip on the obverse has been designed by Etienne Millner, a leading figurative sculptor.

So not only does the new UK £5 coin commemorate this incredibly rare milestone, the coin is also one of the most historically important coins issued during Her Majesty’s reign.

For the Queen and Prince Philip their Platinum Wedding Anniversary is the pinnacle of their long list of incredible milestones, and this coin is sure to be sought after by collectors all over the world for years to come.


To mark the longest marriage in royal history, The Royal Mint issued a brand new UK £5 coin.

The Platinum Wedding £5 coin is protectively encapsulated and Certified as superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality, so you know your coin will be protected forever and guaranteed by its Certified Hologram.

Click here to secure the UK Platinum Wedding Anniversary £5 Coin in CERTIFIED Brilliant Uncirculated Quality now>>

The Sapphire Jubilee – a first in British Royal history

This year Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her Sapphire Jubilee – the first ever British monarch in history to do so.

It is the first Sapphire Jubilee to be celebrated in British Royal history and as you can imagine this is a significant event for collectors and an occasion that deserves celebration. 

The Royal Mint have issued a brand new £5 coin to mark the occasion, so I thought I’d take a look back at the history and timeless designs of previous UK jubilee coins issued during Her Majesty’s reign…

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Own the brand new Sapphire Jubilee £5

Click here to own the brand new UK £5 coin issued by The Royal Mint to celebrate Her Majesty’s Sapphire Jubilee – the first British monarch in history to do so.

Who was King Canute and why is he on the new UK £5?

Today marks 1,000 years since the coronation of King Canute and to mark the anniversary, The Royal Mint have issued a brand new UK £5 coin. But who was King Canute?

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The Royal Mint have issued this brand new UK £5 coin to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the coronation of King Canute

Hailed the ‘king of all England’

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50 years before the Norman Invasion of 1066, Canute crossed the North Sea and won the throne of England.

Recognised as one of the most prominent kings of the Anglo-Saxon era, Canute is widely remembered for conquering kingdoms across northern Europe including England, Denmark, Norway, and areas of Sweden.

Born in Denmark, King Canute’s exact birth year is unknown, although it is thought to be between 985–995 AD.  Canute grew up at a time when the crown of England was being ferociously fought over by the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings.

Canute became the undisputed successor to the English throne in 1016 after months of warfare between Canute and Edmund Ironside (son of Æthelred ‘The Unready’) and his coronation took place on the 6th January 1017 at the Old St Paul’s cathedral.

Canute or Cnut the Great?

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Canute was originally known as Knútr (which means ‘Knot’) in Old Norse and in Denmark he is still known as Knud den Store (‘Cnut the Great’).

Anglo-Saxons rarely used the letter K and the letter combination ‘CN’ was quite normal in Old English, so his name was spelt CNUT in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and, importantly, on coins issued in his name in England and Denmark.

Later medieval writers turned this into ‘Canutus’ which became the spelling ‘Canute’, often seen in modern English as a more familiar modern day spelling.

A historical coin

King Canute’s achievements and influence paved the way for the nation we recognise today. He strengthened the currency, initiating a series of coins of equal weight to those being used in Denmark, so it’s only fitting that the design of this brand new £5 coin has been inspired by the original currency of King Canute.

This is the first time ever The Royal Mint has commemorated a 1,000-year anniversary on a coin – an occasion of real significance.


Own Britain’s new £5 coin – the first release of 2017

king-canute-coin-and-coin-packThe 2017 UK King Canute £5

Today you can own the brand new 2017 UK £5 coin issued to mark the 1,000th anniversary of the coronation of King Canute – an anniversary never before celebrated on a UK coin.