In 2005 to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the First Dictionary by Samuel Johnson, the Royal Mint released a Limited Issue Dictionary 50p Fifty Pence Gold Proof Coin struck in solid 22 Carat Gold.
Samuel Johnson was one of the most important writers of the 18th century. He was born in Lichfield, near Birmingham, on 18 September 1709. As a child he suffered from poor health and illness and depression were to plague him throughout his life. He once said that there was scarcely a day in which he felt completely well.
His father owned a bookshop and from an early age Johnson loved books. He was an excellent scholar and earned himself a place at Oxford University. Unfortunately, financial problems forced him to leave University before he finished his degree and he turned to teaching. In 1738 he moved to London where he devoted himself to writing. He began his Dictionary of the English Language in 1746, working on it almost single-handedly until it was published nine years later in 1755.
He wrote the definitions of over 40,000 words, illustrating them with about 114,000 quotations. Unlike most modern lexicographers, Johnson sometimes introduced humor of prejudice into his definitions. Among the best known are 'Excise, a hateful tax levied upon commodities, Lexicographer, a writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge', and 'Oats, a grain which in England is generally given to horses but in Scotland supports the people. Johnson's dictionary stands as a celebration of the English Language. It remained without rival for over a century until the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary which was published towards the end of the 19th century.
As a recognition of his contribution to the culture of English Life when he died in 1784, he was buried in Westminster Abbey. The reverse of the solid 22 Carat Gold Proof 50p coin designed by Tom Phillips is an interpretation of the words 'Fifty' and 'Pence' as they appeared in Johnson's Dictionary together with denomination 50 and Johnsons Dictionary 1755. The obverse features the portrait of the Queen by Ian Rank Broadley FRBS, FSNAD. These legal tender coins have been struck to proof quality using specially prepared dies and highly polished blanks.
Limited Mintage Presentation of 584 Coins Worldwide
Struck to Royal Mint's Proof Standard in Solid 22 Carat Gold
Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the First Dictionary by Samuel Johnson
