Silver Ounce 2024 Masterpiece - Una and the Lion, 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 is a re-issue of the reverse design of the Saint Helena 2019 five sovereigns - a modern re-interpretation of one of the world’s most beautiful coins, the iconic Una and the Lion Five Pound piece by William Wyon, issued in 1839 for inclusion in the first specimen coin sets of Queen Victoria's reign.

The obverse of the original showed the young portrait of Queen Victoria, also by Royal Mint engraver William Wyon (1795 - 1851). The reverse draws its theme from Edmund Spenser’s epic poem entitled the Faerie Queene, first published in 1590 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and depicts the Queen as Una guiding the British lion. There is a powerful contrast between the restrained energy conveyed by the lion and the peace and grace of the standing figure of Una. The design is an unusual one for a British coin, being too medallic - but then, it was never intended for circulation.