Queen Elizabeth II Bullion Coins
Due to the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II and the crowning of King Charles III as the new regent of the United Kingdom, it can be expected that the British Royal Mint, Royal Canadian Mint and Australia’s Perth Mint will all make the switch from the late Queen’s official portrait to the new King’s portrait sometime later this year. The Royal Mint is the first that has already started with this process. It just recently announced that the new 2023 edition of the British Gold Britannias will be the first major bullion coin to bear King Charles’ portrait on the reverse. So this article is intended as a list of all Queen Elizabeth II bullion coins, so all major bullion coins out of gold, silver, platinum or palladium that bear the image of Queen Elizabeth II.
On the Royal Mint’s and the Perth Mint’s bullion coins, five different portraits of the Queen were used. The 1st official portrait was designed by Mary Gillick, the 2nd official portrait by Arnold Machin, the 3rd official portrait by Raphael David Maklouf, the 4th official portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley and the 5th and final official portrait by Jody Clark.
As far as the bullion coins of the Royal Canadian Mint are concerned, there exist three different official portraits of the Queen that always appear on the obverse side of all Canadian bullion coins. The first portrait of the Queen that appears on Canadian bullion coins is Arnold Machin’s 2nd official portrait that depicts a 39-year-old Queen. It’s the same portrait that appears on British bullion.
The two other portraits of the Queen that appear on Canadian bullion coins are different from the British versions though. Dora de Pédery-Hunt‘s portrait of a 64-year-old Queen which replaced Arnold Machin’s version still closely resembled Raphael David Maklouf’s 3rd official portrait. After that, the last portrait of the Queen that appeared on Canadian bullion coins was then very distinct from the official British versions. It was designed by Susanna Blunt and shows her as a 79-year-old.
- The Canadian Gold Maple Leafs depicted Arnold Machin’s portrait between 1979 and 1989. Dora de Pédery-Hunt’s portrait then appeared on the obverse side of the coins from 1990 until 2004. Susanna Blunt’s portrait was then used since 2005.
- Arnold Machin’s portrait of the Queen also appeared on the Canadian Silver Maple Leafs in 1988 and 1989. Dora de Pédery-Hunt’s portrait of her Majesty then appeared on the coins between 1990 and 2003. Since 2004, the coins depicted Susanna Blunt’s portrait.
- The Canadian Platinum Maple Leafs also depicted Arnold Machin’s portrait of a 39-year-old Queen in 1988 and 1989, Dora de Pédery-Hunt’s portrait of a 64-year-old Queen between 1990 and 2002 and Susanna Blunt’s portrait since the coins were then minted again in 2009.
- The Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf coins depict Susanna Blunt’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II as a 79-year-old since their inaugural 2005 issue.
- Susanna Blunt’s portrait of the Queen also appears on the obverse side of the Canadian Call of the Wild gold coins.
- The Australian Gold Kangaroo coins depicted Raphael David Maklouf’s portrait until 1997. Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait then appeared on the coins from 1998 until 2018. Jody Clark’s portrait was then used from 2019 on.
- The Australian Silver Kangaroos as well as the Australian Platinum Kangaroos similarly made the switch from Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait to Jody Clark’s portrait in 2019.
- The Australian Lunar gold coins showed Raphael David Maklouf’s portrait of a youthful Queen from 1996 to 1998. Starting in 1999, the coins depicted Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait of a more mature Queen and the switch to Jody Clark’s image of an older Queen was then made in 2020.
- The Australian Silver Lunar coins also used Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait from 1999 to 2019 and Jody Clark’s portrait after that.
- The Australian Platinum Lunar coins only exist with Jody Clark’s portrait since the coins were first released in 2020.
- Raphael David Maklouf’s portrait appeared on the British Gold Britannias and British Silver Britannias until 1997. From 1998 until 2015, Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait then appeared on the coins, followed by Jody Clark’s portrait since 2016. When the British Platinum Britannias were first issued as bullion coins in 2018, they also used Jody Clark’s portrait image on their obverse.
- Five different portraits of the Queen appeared on the British Gold Sovereigns during their long history. Mary Gillick’s first portrait appeared on the bullion version of the coins from 1957 until 1968, Arnold Machin’s 2nd portrait from 1974 until 1984, Raphael David Maklouf’s 3rd portrait from 1985 until 1997, Ian Rank-Broadley’s 4th portrait from 1998 until 2015 and finally Jody Clark’s 5th official portrait since 2016.
- The British Gold Lunar coins as well as the British Silver Lunar coins show Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait in 2014 and 2015 and Jody Clark’s portrait after that.
- Finally, all issues of the British Gold Queen’s Beasts, British Silver Queen’s Beasts and British Platinum Queen’s Beasts depict Jody Clark’s official 5th portrait of Her Majesty.