Gold Third Ounce 2024 King's Virtues - Victory, 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. Some of them are non-standard and/or one-off issues in gold, such as this one.

The reverse design of this coin was the first in The Queen's Virtues Series and represents Victory; after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the range was continued as The King's Virtues Series.

The mint said about the original release:
Victory is perhaps one of the most prominent virtues a Monarch can behold. Defined as the success or triumph of overcoming an enemy, Victory is a key element in both Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Victory signals the end of conflict and a celebration of peace.

The Queen as Sovereign is Head of the Armed Forces and is still the only person able to formally declare war and more crucially, an end to conflict. 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".

Victory is said to be the achievement of mastery, success and overcoming an enemy. A key virtue recognised in both Victoria’s and Elizabeth II’s reign Victory holds a position at the very top of the Victoria Memorial monument. In gilded bronze stands a Winged Victory on a globe holding a victor’s palm. The victors palm represents victory, triumph and peace, a symbol originating from the Middle East. In ancient Roman religion, Victoria was a goddess personifying Victory, the Roman’s equivalent of the Greek goddess, Nike.

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