Una and the Lion

United Kingdom 1839 5 Pounds

The Una and the Lion is a British £5 gold coin depicting Queen Victoria. It is recognized as one of the most beautiful British coins ever struck. It was designed by William Wyon in 1839, to commemorate the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign (in 1837). The coins were first produced in 1839 and were probably intended for collector sets rather than for circulation. The production ran to a few hundred coins including a number of variations such as different metals, different hairbands on the depiction of the queen, different edge types, and a variation in the reverse inscription.[1]

The coin is the lightest of the British £5 coins, weighing only 38.7–39.3 grams.[2]

  1. ^ "Home › History of the Royal Mint › People › Artists › Benedetto Pistrucci". www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Una and the Lion". spink.com.