On 23 December 2007, Elizabeth II surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria to become the oldest person ever to reign as British monarch, at 81 years and 243 days. This issue marks that specific milestone. Pobjoy struck it for the Isle of Man — the KM#42a reference places it within that territory's commemorative program, not a UK Royal Mint release.
Pobjoy's Surrey facility handled a substantial volume of small-territory commemoratives during this period, many sharing the 38.61mm planchet spec with contemporaneous Commonwealth issues.
On 23 December 2007, Elizabeth II surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria to become the oldest person ever to reign as British monarch, at 81 years and 243 days. This issue marks that specific milestone. Pobjoy struck it for the Isle of Man — the KM#42a reference places it within that territory's commemorative program, not a UK Royal Mint release.
Pobjoy's Surrey facility handled a substantial volume of small-territory commemoratives during this period, many sharing the 38.61mm planchet spec with contemporaneous Commonwealth issues.