07/05/2002
The special Australian collector coin issued to celebrate the life of the Queen Mother is now available from the Royal Australian Mint.
The design highlights the Queen Mother's connections with Australia, depicting her as a young woman on her first visit to Australia in 1927. (She travelled to Australia as Duchess of York with the then Duke of York, who later became King George VI, in 1927 visiting many parts of Australia as well as South Australia. It was during this visit that the Duke opened Australia's, then new Parliament building, in Canberra in May 1927.
The design on the coin is based on a photograph of the Duchess of York (as she then was) attending the Adelaide Cup at the Morphetville Race Course, South Australia, in early May 1927. The photograph shows her smiling happily as she watches the proceedings, with the Duke of York sitting next to her together with other South Australian dignitaries. In her gloved hands is a pair of binoculars used to watch the races that day.
Surrounding the image of the Queen Mother is a circle of Australian wattle blossoms intertwined with 'Elizabeth of Glamis' rose blooms.
The Mint has commissioned Stuart Devlin, Geelong-born Jeweller and Goldsmith to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, to prepare the reverse design of the coin. The obverse will feature the standard effigy of the Queen, designed by Ian Rank-Broadley
The coins will be available from the Royal Australian Mint, coin dealers and selected Australia Post outlets in South Australia.
| Coin | Description | Download |
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Queen Mother Coin Obverse/Reverse 1717x887 pixel JPG |
JPG 1.5MB (Zip) |