December 29, 2023

Part 12: Commemoratives In Gold

Since 1972 Jersey has issued many gold coins. Various coins have been issued as gold proof versions of the modern pound and commemorative crown sized coins. Some series starts with a small five or ten pounds coin and progresses through twenty five, fifty and hundred pounds coins. At first, these coins did have a connection with Jersey, but now I can no longer keep up with so many collector coins being produced. So I will just give a few examples for your viewing pleasure.

For a discussion about collecting NCLT see my commemoratives site.

Technical Specifications for Various Jersey Gold Coins
Denomination	Diameter	Weight	Fineness	Gold Content
Pound 1981	25 Square	17.5500	.9166	0.5174
Pound	22.05	19.6500	.9166	0.5794
Pound 2007	13.89	1.2500	.9999	0.0400
Sovereign	22.05	7.9800	.9166	0.2352
Two/Five Pounds	38.61	15.9800	.9166	0.4712
Five Pounds	38.61	39.9400	.9166	1.176
Five Pounds	14	2.6200	.9166	0.0772
Ten Pounds 1972	17	4.6400	.9166	0.1368
Ten Pounds	16.5	3.1300	.999	0.1005
2015 Ten Pounds	65	155.53	.9166	4.584
Twenty Pounds	22	9.2600	.9166	0.2729
Twenty Five Pounds 1972	24.5	11.9000	.9166	0.3507
Twenty Five Pounds	22.00	7.8100	.999	0.2509
Fifty Pounds 1972	31	22.6300	.9166	0.6670
Fifty Pounds	26.50	15.6100	.999	0.5014
Hundred Pounds	33.50	31.2100	.999	1.0025
1972 Set (5 Coins)		51.0500	.9166	1.5044

1972 Silver Wedding Issues (click on image to enlarge)
White Toothed Shrew	Bronze Age Torque	An Ormer
Royal Arms of Queen Elizabeth I	Arms of the Bailiwick	Obverse

The reverse of the 5 pounds coin is a white toothed shrew (Crocidura Suaveolens) found in Jersey, Sark, and the Scilly Islands. Tiny (it is only 2.5 inches long), this shrew has prominent ears and fine whitish hairs projecting at right angles from the shorter fur along its tail.

The reverse of the 10 pounds coin is a Bronze Age gold torque found on the island on December 17, 1889, while building of a new house on Lewis Street, St. Helier. This torque was made over 3,000 years ago from a single piece of high quality gold, and is one of the island's greatest treasures. The torque itself comprises a four flanged golden spiral of 141.2 centimeters in length, 1.5 centimeters in diameter, and weighs 24 ounces. No other torques have been found in the Channel Islands but they are associated with Ireland, Britain and France and it may have been a gift from one of these areas. Torques were typically worn around the neck, as jewelry or symbols of office, but this example is more likely to have been worn around the body.

The reverse of the 20 pounds coin is an ormer (Haliotis Tuberculata) which is peculiar to the Channel Islands. The ormer is an edible gastropod mollusc and a great delicacy. It often grows 4 inched in length and can be as much as two to three inches wide. Its single shell is ear shaped. The word "Ormer" seems to be a local contraction from the French Oreille de Mer. The ormer is scarcely known outside the Channel Islands. It clings to rock with its back and the shell, distinctively perforated and lined with mother of pearl, covering the belly.

The reverse of the 25 pounds coin is the Royal Arms of Queen Elizabeth I. The arms of Queen Elizabeth I above the main gate of Elizabeth Castle are cut in a block of close-grained granite. The castle, built in the Queen's reign, lies on an islet in St. Aubin's Bay. Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles II of England) twice resided in the castle -- 16 April to 25 June 1646 and 17 September 1649 to 13 February 1650 -- while living in exile after the English Civil War. After his departure, the castle was besieged and finally occupied by Parliamentary troops and continued as a barracks for an English garrison until the early 20th century.

The reverse design of the 50 pounds coin is the Arms of the Bailiwick. The Arms of the Bailiwick of Jersey are derived from the Royal Arms of England on the seal given to the Bailiff in 1279 by King Edward I for the authentication of documents. In time, and without authority, the Bailiwick adopted the Royal Arms (three golden lions passant guardant in pale on a red background) as its own. King Edward VII regularised this in 1907. The arms are on the reverse of all pre-decimal coins issued by the States of Jersey.

Various Sovereigns
2000 William the Conqueror	2009 Henry VIII	2010 Restoration of the Monarchy
2011 Roual Wedding	2012 Diamond Jubilee	Common Obverse

One of the most widely traded gold coins in the world, the gold sovereign is always a popular choice with investors because of its status as legal tender in the UK makes it exempt from Capital Gains Tax (CGT). The gold sovereign is predominately produced by the Royal Mint in the UK, but also by royally sanctioned Mints in Australia, India, Canada and South Africa. Regardless of where the gold sovereign is produced, it will always carry the British design and therefore remain legal tender with a nominal value of £1 Sterling. This is the Jersey version.

Ten Pounds -- Five Ounces
Coronation Jubilee	Lest We Forget	Duke of Edinburgh
We Will Remember Them	Peace	Concorde Flight
Captain Cook	Waterloo	Longest Reigning Monarch

Various Other Gold Coins

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