In 1999 the Royal Mint released a very Limited Issue Brilliant Uncirculated St George and the Dragon £5 Five Pound Sovereign Gold Coin struck in solid 22 Carat Gold.
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 Brilliant Uncirculated Gold £5 Crown Coins of 1999. The obverse bears the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank Broadley FRBS, FSNAD.
Limited Mintage of 970 Coins Worldwide
Five Pound Sovereign Gold Coin Struck in Solid 22 Carat Gold
Finished to Royal Mint's Brilliant Uncirculated Quality
Reverse features St George Slaying the Dragon by Benedetto Pistrucci
