Obverse. Photo © Ma collection de monnaies
  • 2 Pounds 2010, KM# 1160, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, 100th Anniversary of Death of Florence Nightingale
  • 2 Pounds 2010, KM# 1160, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, 100th Anniversary of Death of Florence Nightingale
Description

The 2010 £2 coin marked both the centenary of the death of Florence Nightingale and the 150th anniversary of the publication of her Notes on Nursing, celebrated in 2009.

Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) was an English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing. She came to prominence while serving as a manager of nurses trained by her during the Crimean War, where she organised the tending to wounded soldiers. She gave nursing a highly favourable reputation and became an icon of Victorian culture, especially in the persona of "The Lady with the Lamp" making rounds of wounded soldiers at night.

In 1860, Nightingale laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment of her nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital in London. It was the first secular nursing school in the world. In recognition of her pioneering work in nursing, the Nightingale Pledge taken by new nurses, and the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve, were named in her honour, and the annual International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world on her birthday.

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·FID·DEF
· 2010 ·
IRB

Reverse

The design portrays a pulse being taken, whilst the background symbolises the rays of light from the lamp that Florence Nightingale was known for carrying during her rounds to tend to the wounded troops in the Crimean War.

Engraver: Gordon Summers

1820 - FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE - 1910
TWO POUNDS

Edge

150 YEARS OF NURSING ·

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Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Bi-Metallic
Ring Nickel Brass
Center Cupronickel
Weight 12 g
Diameter 28.4 mm
Thickness 2.5 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Royal Mint

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