Obverse. Photo © Royal Mint
  • 1 Crown 1980, KM# 921, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, 80th Anniversary of Birth of the Queen Mother
  • 1 Crown 1980, KM# 921, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, 80th Anniversary of Birth of the Queen Mother
Description

The commemorative British decimal twenty-five pence (25p) coin was issued in four designs between 1972 and 1981. These coins were a post-decimalisation continuation of the traditional crown, with the same value of a quarter of a pound sterling. Uniquely in British decimal coinage, the coins do not have their value stated on them. This is because previous crowns rarely did so.

The 1980 British Crown was issued to celebrate the eightieth birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

Obverse

Second 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: Arnold Machin

D·G·REG·F·D· ELIZABETH II

Reverse

A portrait of the Queen Mother surrounded by a radiating pattern of bows and lions, a pun on her maiden name Bowes-Lyon.

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was the wife of King George VI and the mother of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. She was Queen consort of the United Kingdom and the Dominions from her husband's accession in 1936 until his death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter.

Engraver: Richard Guyatt

QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER
AUGUST 4th 1980

Edge
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Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Cupronickel
Weight 28.28 g
Diameter 38.61 mm
Thickness 2.89 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Royal Mint

Related coins

2nd portrait

80th Anniversary of Birth of the Queen Mother

Cupronickel, 28.28 g, ⌀ 38.61 mm