Catalog
2 Pounds - Victoria Golden Jubilee
| Issuer | Royal Mint, Sydney Branch |
|---|---|
| Year | 1887 |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Reverse description | The reverse features Benedetto Pistrucci's iconic composition of Saint George, clad in classical armour and a plumed helmet, astride a rearing horse and driving a broken lance downward into the writhing dragon beneath. The scene is depicted in a dramatic, energetic style derived from Pistrucci's original 1817 design, with the dragon coiled beneath the horse's hooves in the lower field. The date 1887 appears in the exergue in large numerals, flanked by Pistrucci's initials B.P. to the right. The Sydney mint mark S is present on this issue. The reverse field is otherwise free of legend, allowing the dynamic figural group to dominate the composition. |
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| Reverse lettering | S B.P. 1887 |
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| Additional information |
The 1887 Sydney two-pound piece belongs to the Jubilee coinage reform initiated by the Royal Mint in London to mark fifty years of Victoria's reign. The new effigy by Joseph Boehm replaced the aging Young Head portrait that had circulated for decades — a change that proved immediately controversial, with the public and press mocking what many considered an unflattering likeness of the Queen.
Sydney's output of the two-pound denomination was modest, and the branch mint's coins are distinguishable from their London counterparts by the S mintmark. Very few circulated in the conventional sense; pieces of this size moved through banks and treasury transactions rather than everyday commerce.