The Isle of Man has its own circulating coinage, which is used in parallel with the British Pound Sterling; it also issues an extensive range of commemorative coins for collectors, as well as bullion coins in a variety of formats and designs for investors in precious metals.
One of the formats used is the internationally popular one troy ounce (1oz) of gold. An early design issued in this format is the Noble, depicting a Viking ship. The original Noble denomination was a coin introduced by King Edward III in 1344, which was one of the first widely-used gold coins struck in England. It was believed at the time that the coin was a lucky charm as a protection against thieves. It was discontinued after the reign of King Edward IV, until the Isle of Man revived the denomination in 1983 - first in platinum, and later in other metals. The strong Viking theme of its design relates to the history of the island, having once been the Kingdom of Man and conquered by Norse leaders, with the King of Dublin and the Earls of Orkney ruling the isle.
It is usually said that modern Nobles are legal tender but without a fixed face value, like the Krugerrand or Mexico’s Libertad which are legal tender to the value of their precious metal content. However, according to the various Currency Determinations by The Treasury of the Isle of Man authorising each issue, the "Noble" denomination has a fixed value - for example, the 2010 Determination sets it as £10, while the 2017 and later acts make it equal to 5 pounds in face value, with fractions or multiples divided or multiplied as required by the fraction or multiplier shown on the reverse of the coin. Hence, the one ounce has a nominal face value of £5 (five pounds).
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| Obverse | |
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The obverse of the coin depicts the crowned old bust of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Royal Diamond Diadem crown worn for her Coronation (effigy known as the "Fifth Portrait" worldwide but "Sixth Portrait" in Australia, where the Queen's portrait by Vladimir Gottwald was fifth).
The Queen also wears the Coronation Necklace; originally made for Queen Victoria in 1858, it was also worn at the coronations (as Queen's Consort) of Queen Alexandra in 1902, Queen Mary in 1911 and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen mother) in 1937.
Unlike on British coinage, the effigy is "uncouped" (includes the Queen's shoulders) and extends almost to the rim of the coin; consequently, the legend does not run continuously around the rim.
The artist's initials JC (for Jody Clark) are in tiny letters below left.
Around the effigy is the monarch's legend and the date: QUEEN ELIZABETH II · ISLE OF MAN · 2018 ·.
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| Reverse | |
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The reverse of the coin shows a Viking longboat under sail, with a horned dragon figurehead on the bow. In the background, flying seagulls.
In the exergue, the metal content: Au .999 1 OUNCE (one troy ounce of 99.9% gold).
Around below, the name of the (fictional) denomination, ONE NOBLE. This does not translate to a face value in pounds, since the coin's legal tender value depends on the metal content and not on the denomination.
The rim is framed by an elaborate Viking motif border design, interrupted at the top by a small Triskele symbol, which is the Coat of Arms of the Isle of Man. |
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