1839 Una & The Lion £5

[TheGoldAngel]

I'm interested in why the 1839 Una & The Lion £5 was commissioned by Queen Victoria? What was the purpose if it wasn't circulated?  

[ilovesilverireallydo]

49 minutes ago, TheGoldAngel said:

I'm interested in why the 1837 Una & The Lion £5 was commissioned by Queen Victoria? What was the purpose if it wasn't circulated?  

300 examples struck for inclusion in the British Coronation sets of 1839 and 100 other  were sold up to 1841. It is speculated, but not confirmed, there may have been some single (not sets) coins sold too, however no concrete info is available if this actually happened. 

To answer your specific question, they were a coronation issue marking the 1937 coronation.  

From a now disappeared article (I had saved a copy): 

Quote

To mark her coronation on June 28, 1838, Britain’s Royal Mint issued a 15-coin specimen set. For reasons best known to the Royal Mint at the time, all 15 coins were described as specimens. Today, they are regarded as proofs. Although dated 1839, these sets first became available to collectors in 1843.

Any synonymizing Victoria with Una on the £5 coin needs to be read in the context of the times. The depth of imagery employed by Wyon holds a far deeper meaning than any innocent metaphor. Spencer’s Una is the defender of the One True Faith against Falsehood. In her Coronation Oath, Victoria has sworn to do likewise. That faith is that of the Church of England. That falsehood is Rome. From this perspective, the reverse design of the coin struck to mark the coronation is a compelling symbol of contemporary religious dogma and conflict.

Here is the interesting - little known history behind the coin - Pistrucci actually designed the first version of the coronation coin - but people hated it: 

 

Quote

 

Upon Victoria’s accession to the throne, the irascible Italian genius, Benedetto Pistrucci, was given the task of designing the new queen’s coronation medal. He received a commission of £500 for the design, with Victoria undertaking sittings with the sculptor at both Windsor and Brighton.

The result pleased few. The design was riddled with inaccuracies. It was described by many as the very worst of the entire English coronation series. A heated debate in Parliament saw demands for its withdrawal and for a new medal to be struck.

 

Source https://web.archive.org/web/20180705071941/http://numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=29313

[TheGoldAngel]

@ilovesilverireallydo Truely incrediable thankyou very much for the education its a coin i've been atempting  to aquire for along time. Never knew Benedetto designed the first incrediable!

[ilovesilverireallydo]

23 minutes ago, TheGoldAngel said:

@ilovesilverireallydo Truely incrediable thankyou very much for the education its a coin i've been atempting  to aquire for along time. Never knew Benedetto designed the first incrediable!

No problem. It’s worth noting there are no examples of the Benedetto version. 

Also there have been reissues of the design in different denominations by private mints like Guernsey and TDC meaning you may be able to pick a cheaper version, as I suspect the originals are very pricey.

[TheGoldAngel]

8 minutes ago, ilovesilverireallydo said:

No problem. It’s worth noting there are no examples of the Benedetto version. 

Also there have been reissues of the design in different denominations by private mints like Guernsey and TDC meaning you may be able to pick a cheaper version, as I suspect the originals are very pricey.

Shame would of been very intrested to see the orignal artwork! Yes the ones im looking at are well over £200k 

[sovereignsteve]

Not being funny, but I think if I was interested in acquiring something like this, I would make sure I knew all about it first, without thinking about asking a question on a silver forum😉

[TheGoldAngel]

Exactly @sovereignsteve hense why im aquiring as much information as possible on the chance of being able to add this edition to my collection just not for 200k 😂 I have seen nice examples just over the 100k mark which is in my budget  

[ilovesilverireallydo]

2 hours ago, sovereignsteve said:

Not being funny, but I think if I was interested in acquiring something like this, I would make sure I knew all about it first, without thinking about asking a question on a silver forum😉

Lol there are some very wealthy collectors that hang about on this forum. 

[sovereignsteve]

1 hour ago, TheGoldAngel said:

seen nice examples just over the 100k mark which is in my budget

Impressive

[RacerCool]

That coin is very beautiful.  I want one. 😍

 

.

[sovereignsteve]

Other than being rare and expensive, the coin doesn't do it for me😃

[westminstrel]

Indeed! It looks more like a medal than a coin to me. 

3 hours ago, sovereignsteve said:

Other than being rare and expensive, the coin doesn't do it for me😃

 

[TheGoldAngel]

On 21/03/2019 at 05:47, RacerCool said:

That coin is very beautiful.  I want one. 😍

 

.

Truly a work of art 

[TheGoldAngel]

On 21/03/2019 at 09:24, sovereignsteve said:

Other than being rare and expensive, the coin doesn't do it for me😃

Each to there own. Its been top of my list just for sheer beauty but then again beauty is in the eye of the beholder 

[sovereignsteve]

2 hours ago, TheGoldAngel said:

Truly a work of art 

i agree but as someone said, more of a medal than a coin.

i would have one given though😉

[RacerCool]

5 hours ago, sovereignsteve said:

i agree but as someone said, more of a medal than a coin.

i would have one given though😉

I'd pay the gold cost for it.  But I'm pretty sure the premium on one of those is off the charts. 

[ilovesilverireallydo]

Here is another tid bit @ChardsCoinandBullionDealer Issues a medal for the Jubilee with a Elizabeth depiction of this coin

[TonyS]

Why didn't they put their phone number on it?

 

The reverse looks hideous!

[TheGoldAngel]

🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢

[ilovesilverireallydo]

On 20/03/2019 at 10:34, TheGoldAngel said:

Shame would of been very intrested to see the orignal artwork! Yes the ones im looking at are well over £200k 

I just realised THERE IS a pic of the original artwork: 

[Wolves]

The 1oz proof from Pobjoy Mint it a nice coin. 

2017, the 1839 Una and the lion was sold for £125,000. Thats why I have a silver one.

 

 

 

[ilovesilverireallydo]

On 21/03/2019 at 13:10, westminstrel said:

Indeed! It looks more like a medal than a coin to me. 

 

To be fair that’s exactly what it is; a medal