Silver Ounce 2019 Empire - Queen Anne, 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 silver ounce (1 oz silver) format, usually denominated as £1.

This coin (denominated as 25 pence - like the early decimal crown coins) is part of The 2019 Empire Collection - Monarchs proof set issued by The East India Company, which features nine English monarchs, and is dedicated to Queen Anne (1665 - 1714).

Anne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, two of her realms, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, united as a single sovereign state known as Great Britain. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death.

The Mint says about the set:
“Whosoever commands the sea, commands the trade, whosoever commands the trade of the world, commands the riches of the world and consequently the world itself.”
– Sir Walter Raleigh

From its very first voyage in January 1601, until it was dissolved and absorbed into the British Crown in 1874, The East India Company laid the foundation of the British Empire in the East. Overtime "The Company" rose to account for half of the world’s trade including cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, saltpetre, tea and bullion. It had its own army and navy, its stocks were central to London’s financial markets and at one point it ruled over 400 million people. Learn the story of the world’s most famous Company through its coins. The 2019 Empire Collection is a series of nine silver proof coins which tell the story of a band of merchants who created an Empire through the monopoly, privilege and power bestowed on them by the Monarchs that ruled.

Under William, the competition he encouraged resulted in emergence of a second trading company. However, while competition may have been good for some, it was effectively bad for business, producing conflicts at home and in the East. Queen Anne unified the two parallel companies in 1702, creating a single company that was stronger and more financially secure.

The design on the set’s coin that notes her role resembles the simple and clean designs often found on the coinage of Queen Anne and feature the portrait found on her 1704 half crown. The heart shape “bale-mark” featured on this coin reflects the emblem of the new company following unification with the little “v” representing the word “united". This bale-mark was to be applied to all East India Company goods and was in essence the forerunner of the modern trademark.