5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Elizabeth I, New Portrait

Alderney, the smallest of the inhabited Channel Islands with a population under 2,000, has no independent monetary authority — its commemorative program runs entirely through an arrangement with the Royal Mint and the British government. This piece marks the 450th anniversary of Elizabeth I's accession, issued the same year the Royal Mint was preparing its own transition to a new coinage portrait of Elizabeth II by sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley's successor designs.

KM#266 is one of several Alderney commemoratives from this period that circulated almost exclusively as collector pieces, never entering general use on the island.