In 1999 the Royal Mint released a very Limited Issue St George and the Dragon £5 Five Pound Sovereign Gold Proof Coin struck in solid 22 Carat Gold Certified Slabbed and Graded by PCGS as PR69 DCAM.
On the reverse it boasts Benedetto Pistrucci's classic portrayal of St George Slaying The Dragon which first appeared in 1817 when the Sovereign was revived as part of a wide ranging reform of coinage during the reign of George III.
Gold £5 Five Pound Coins were authorised at the same time but, although Proof specimens were subsequently struck, it was not until the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887 that £5 Five Pound pieces were at last issued for circulation.
These Victorian £5 Five Pound pieces featured Edgar Boehm's portrait of the Queen, a portrait so much disliked that new designs were urgently called for.
There was no thought, however, of replacing Pistrucci's St George, a masterpiece of numismatic art that continues to grace the £5 Five Pound Gold Proof Crown Coins of 1999.
The obverse bears the Fourth Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank Broadley.
These legal tender coins have been struck to proof quality using specially prepared dies and highly polished blanks.