First portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II (laureate bust) facing right, wearing a wreath. It was introduced in 1953, one year after the Queen acceded to the throne. It captures the grace and youth of the 26-year-old new Queen. Her hair is restrained by a laureate crown which is tied with ribbons at the back of her head. The Queen's shoulders are bare and the truncation follows the curve of the coin. The engravers initials M.G. are incuse, generally faint, and are located on the raised edge found at the base of the bust.

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

Engraver: Mary Gillick

A crowned Tudor portcullis with chains (an adaptation of the Badge of Henry VII which is now the Badge of the Palace of Westminster), dividing value, date below.

A portcullis (from the French porte coulissante, "sliding door") is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the two, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway.

Engraver: William Maving Gardner