Fiftieth Anniversary - Accession of Queen Elizabeth II

The Royal Australian Mint will release at the end of February two precious metal Collector Proof Coins to commemorate the Accession of Her Majesty to the Throne in 1952. The first coin is a 1oz (31.1036 grams) pure (99.99%) Gold coin with a face value of $100. The twelve-sided (dodecagonal) pure silver coin has a weight of 18.24 grams and a face value of 50 cents.

These two coins are housed in rich red velvet cases with replica crowns affixed to the outside of the lid. Striking outer packaging completes the attractive presentation of the coins. There is a two coin set comprised of the gold and the silver coins. Just 2002 of these sets will be produced costing $1295.00 per set. In addition, 17,500 single silver coins, each in individual presentation cases, will be released costing $60.00 each.

February 6 2002 marks the 50th anniversary, or Golden Jubilee, of the Accession of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll to the Throne in 1952. The accession of Her Majesty followed the death of her father King George Vl while the Princess and her husband, Prince Phillip, were in Kenya at the commencement of a tour of the British Commonwealth. This tour, which was to include Australia and New Zealand, was being undertaken on behalf of the King who was gravely ill at the time.

The reverse of the gold coin depicts a ghosted profile of King George Vl facing an image of the new Queen in a symbolic representation of the transfer of Sovereignty, represented by the Royal Crown between the images, from the recently deceased King to the new Queen. The solemnity of the design, created by Peter Soobik of Orange NSW and modelled by Mint sculptor Vladimir Gottwald, has been faithfully translated making this an innately beautiful coin.

The 50c coin in this set, also designed by Peter Soobik, depicts St Edward's Crown, Australia's Federation Star, the denomination and Royal Ciphers intersected by the words 'Elizabeth, Accession' and 'Fiftieth Anniversary' in a quaternary design.

St Edward's Crown is the crown first used for the coronation of Charles II in 1661 and used in most coronations since that time, including that of Queen Elizabeth II. The Federation Star, a symbol of Australia's federal system of government, also appears on the national flag. The seven points of the Star represent Australia's States and Territories. The well-known Royal Ciphers of Queen Elizabeth II as reigning monarch, 'EIIR' and that of King George Vl, 'George VI', acknowledge the succession to the throne by Her Majesty. A 50c base metal coin with this design will be released into general circulation later in 2002.

These beautiful coins celebrate the reign of Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the role she has played in Australia and elsewhere over the past 50 years.

Nominal Specifications

Download high-resolution coin image/s

Coin	Description	Download
	Accession $100 1475x1476 pixel JPG	JPG 965kB (Zip)
	Accession 50c 1475x1476 pixel JPG	JPG 517kB (Zip)