Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 5 Pence 1998-2008, KM# 988, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II
  • 5 Pence 1998-2008, KM# 988, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II
Obverse

Fourth crowned portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara.

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara was a wedding present in 1947 from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who received it as a gift from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland in 1893 on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of York, later George V. Made by E. Wolfe & Co., it was purchased from Garrard & Co. by a committee organised by Lady Eve Greville. In 1914, Mary adapted the tiara to take 13 diamonds in place of the large oriental pearls surmounting the tiara. At first, Elizabeth wore the tiara without its base and pearls but the base was reattached in 1969. The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is one of Elizabeth's most recognisable pieces of jewellery due to its widespread use on British banknotes and coinage.

ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSATRIX means Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith.

Engraver: Ian Rank-Broadley

ELIZABETH·II·D·G REG·F·D·2006
IRB

Reverse

A crowned thistle (formally, The Badge of Scotland, a thistle royally crowned), with the numeral "5" below the thistle, and the value above the thistle.

Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. They are an adaptation that protects the plant from being eaten by herbivores. Thistle is the floral emblem of Scotland and Lorraine, as well as the emblem of the Encyclopædia Britannica.

Engraver: Christopher Ironside

FIVE PENCE
5

Edge

5 Pence

4th portrait
KM# 988 Sp# D5
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Characteristics
Material Cupronickel
Weight 3.25 g
Diameter 18 mm
Thickness 1.7 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal

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