Elizabeth II, gold medal
John Cochran asked for a valuation on this item. It’s a gold medal commemorating the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne
On the obverse is a bust of the queen flanked by 1952 and 2002. On the reverse is a crown with incuse 2002 at the base and the legend on this side refers to the 50th anniversary of accession; beneath crown is what appears to be a tiny set of hallmarks.
John gave the diameter, weigh and gold standard as 20mm, 2.90 grams and 9 carat. I traced another example, which looked exactly the same but the size was given as 19mm and the weight as 4.02 grams.
50 years since issues of commemorative medals and proof and specimen sets of coins were few and far between. Medals were only struck on special occasions, as were proof sets. In 1970 the number produced for Elizabeth II wouldn’t have filled a single page n a book. However, from a fairly slow start in the 1970s, the Royal Mint really got going in the 1980s when it issued a very large range of coins and sets. For some years Spink has issued a catalogue covering just decimal issues and it now runs to 250 pages!
Besides the Royal Mint a number of other companies advertise the striking of ‘special’ issues. Some of these look like coins but are better described as commemorative medals. Included amongst the latter will be the item sent in by John.
Valuation
What would this be worth? Well, when first issued it probably cost a good deal more than its weight in 9 carat gold but today that’s all it would sell for. Some of these things are bought as an investment but their value will always be linked to the price of gold bullion on the international market.
If you have a modern gold coin, have a look at my advice on Selling Modern Gold Coins.
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