5 Pounds - Charles III Queen Elizabeth II: The Mary Gillick Portrait, Silver Proof

Mary Gillick's effigy of Elizabeth II, first adopted for coinage in 1953, was notably controversial at the Royal Mint for its lack of a crown — an omission Gillick defended on artistic grounds. The portrait appeared on Commonwealth coinage for over a decade before being superseded by Arnold Machin's design in 1968. Reviving it here for a commemorative issue under Charles III creates an unusual dynastic juxtaposition: a king's coinage bearing his mother's earliest official likeness.