1 Crown - Elizabeth II Operation Manna, Silver Proof

Operation Manna was the RAF's emergency food-drop mission over Nazi-occupied Netherlands in late April and early May 1945, flown in coordination with a negotiated ceasefire with German forces still formally in control of Dutch territory. The Hunger Winter of 1944–45 had killed an estimated 18,000 to 22,000 Dutch civilians through starvation. Lancaster bombers, stripped of armament, flew at dangerously low altitudes over cities like Rotterdam and The Hague, dropping food sacks while German anti-aircraft crews stood down under the fragile agreement.

Gibraltar's commemorative coin program of the late 1990s produced numerous proof silver issues tied to Allied operations anniversaries. This piece marks the 54th anniversary of those drops.