1 Crown - Elizabeth II Discus Thrower

Gibraltar's 1995 crown issues exploited a well-established loophole: as a British Overseas Territory, Gibraltar could issue its own legal tender coinage without approval from the Royal Mint, allowing the government to produce an essentially unlimited stream of commemorative pieces aimed squarely at the collector market rather than circulation. The discus thrower subject tied loosely to Atlanta 1996 Olympic anticipation, part of a wave of sports-themed issues that flooded the market from smaller issuing authorities throughout the mid-1990s.