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 and has been Certified Slabbed and Graded by PCGS as MS69 with special NFC Anti-Counterfeiting Technology.
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.