The obverse of the coin shows the crowned mature head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (her effigy known as the "Fourth Portrait"). The Queen wears the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Queen Mary (Her Majesty's grandmother) in 1947 - which she also has on the Machin and the Gottwald portraits.
In small letters below the head, the artist's initials IRB (for Ian Rank-Broadley).
Around the effigy is the monarch's legend and the face value: ELIZABETH II SOLOMON ISLANDS $10.
Interrupted by the face value below is an inscription specifying the precious metal content: 0.5 g Au 999.9 (one half of a gram of 99.99% gold; Au is abbreviated from Aurum, the Latin word for gold). |