Gold Ounce 2022 Queen's Virtues - Courage, Coin from Saint Helena - detailed information

Saint Helena is a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean which is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The currency of the island is the Saint Helena pound, fixed at parity with the pound sterling. The island has authorised some private mints to issue coins under its jurisdiction, which come in a variety of sizes - including in the popular gold ounce (1 oz gold) format, denominated as £5.

This design is the fifth in The Queen's Virtues Series and represents Courage.

The Mint says about it:
The allegorical presentation of the Queen’s six virtues was first presented on the Victoria Memorial, situated outside Buckingham Palace. Designed after Queen Victoria’s death in 1901, The Winged Angel of Victory is featured at the very top of the monument and crouched at her feet are the allegorical figures of Courage and Constancy. Courage wears a helmet and bears a club, while Constancy holds a ship’s compass, and both have cloaks swirling out in the breeze. Beneath stand personifications of Justice, Truth and Charity. Designed and sculpted by Sir Thomas Brock, he described the symbolism of the monument as devoted to the “qualities which made our Queen so great and so much beloved".

The design of this coin is inspired by Brock’s statue. Courage is represented by a seated female figure, helmeted and with a billowing cloak, holding a club in her right hand. The club is thought to symbolise determination and bravery. Seated at the base of Victory, Courage is demonstrated as being essential to being victorious.

All coins in the series have been designed by Dutch medallist Elles Kloosterman.