2nd portrait of Queen Elizabeth II facing right. Lettering around outside, date below.

Mint mark: PM (Pobjoy Mint).

Engraver: Arnold Machin.

The 11th and 12th centuries are represented by a Viking longship of the Hiberno-Norse period, when the Island was the centre of a great Viking Empire stretching from the Outer Hebrides to the east coast of Ireland and North Wales. The Norse hero Godred Crovan is portrayed in the prow of the ship. Tynwald is represented by Tynwald Hill, shown in the inset cartouche.

Godred Crovan (died 1095) was a Norse-Gaelic ruler of the kingdoms of Dublin and the Isles. He defeated the Manx King Fingall II in 1079 and established the Crovan dynasty that ruled till 1290. Godred may well be identical to the celebrated King Orry of Manx legend, a figure traditionally credited with instituting the Manx legal system.

Longships were a type of ship invented and used by the Norsemen for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age. The longships were characterized as a graceful, long, narrow and light wooden boat, with a shallow-draft hull designed for speed. Longships were also double-ended, the symmetrical bow and stern allowing the ship to reverse direction quickly without a turn around. Longships were the epitome of naval power in their time and were highly valued possessions.

Engraver: Leslie Lindsay.