Issued to mark the 70th wedding anniversary of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 2017, this piece draws its obverse portrait from the Raphael Maklouf effigy introduced in 1985 — a deliberate curatorial choice to show the Queen as she appeared closer to the couple's earlier decades together. Guernsey has long used commemorative 50 pence pieces as a revenue-generating collectible, and gold-plated cupro-nickel issues of this type were produced for the civilian gift market rather than circulation.
Issued to mark the 70th wedding anniversary of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 2017, this piece draws its obverse portrait from the Raphael Maklouf effigy introduced in 1985 — a deliberate curatorial choice to show the Queen as she appeared closer to the couple's earlier decades together. Guernsey has long used commemorative 50 pence pieces as a revenue-generating collectible, and gold-plated cupro-nickel issues of this type were produced for the civilian gift market rather than circulation.