25 Pounds - Elizabeth II State Coach

Alderney, the smallest of the inhabited Channel Islands with a population under 2,500, gained the right to issue its own coinage in 1987 — a largely ceremonial privilege that has produced a stream of commemorative gold pieces tied to British royal events. This 1993 issue marks the 40th anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth II. The State Coach depicted has been used for every coronation since George IV commissioned it in 1762 from craftsman Samuel Butler, at a cost exceeding £7,500 — a sum that drew considerable parliamentary criticism at the time.