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 means Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen

Engraver: Mary Gillick

Depicts a beaver (left) on a rock in a river, over the country name and date, facial value above, flanked on both sides by a maple leaf.

The beaver (genus Castor) is a large, primarily nocturnal, semiaquatic rodent. Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges (homes). Their colonies create one or more dams to provide still, deep water to protect against predators, and to float food and building material.

Engraver: George Edward Kruger Gray