Issued to mark the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, this crown was struck at a moment when Gibraltar's relationship with Spain was particularly fraught — the land border had been closed since 1969 under Franco and would remain so until 1982. The choice of Nelson as subject was pointed: Trafalgar Bay lies just off the Andalusian coast, and the battle that secured British naval dominance for a century was fought within sight of Spanish territory.
Issued to mark the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, this crown was struck at a moment when Gibraltar's relationship with Spain was particularly fraught — the land border had been closed since 1969 under Franco and would remain so until 1982. The choice of Nelson as subject was pointed: Trafalgar Bay lies just off the Andalusian coast, and the battle that secured British naval dominance for a century was fought within sight of Spanish territory.