5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Winston Churchill

Issued to mark the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Guernsey from German occupation, this coin ties Churchill directly to the island's wartime experience. Guernsey was occupied from June 1940 until May 1945 — one of the few pieces of British territory to endure Nazi control for the duration of the war. Churchill's decision not to defend the Channel Islands, made to avoid diverting resources from the broader war effort, remained controversial among islanders for decades.