1996 Gold Proof Five Pound Crown - 70th Birthday

The 1996 Gold Proof '70th Birthday' Crown was issued to commemorate the 70th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.

The reverse features a design by Avril Vaughan, showing a representation of Windsor Castle with five flag poles, two holding forked pennants with anniversary dates '1926' and '1996', the other flags being the Royal Arms, the Union flag and Our Personal Flag.

The edge inscription reads 'VIVAT REGINA ELIZABETHA'.

Queen Elizabeth II's third portrait can be seen on the obverse of the coin, designed by Raphael Maklouf.

The coin is made of solid 22 carat gold (Gold fineness of 0.916).

Originally this crown was housed in an original Royal Mint acrylic capsule. The coin is presented in its Royal Mint blue leatherette presentation case, accompanied with an individually numbered certificate of authenticity (COA).

The gold crown has a weight of 39.94 grams.

Only 2,127 gold proof crowns were issued by the Royal Mint in 1996.