Five Pounds 2015 Churchill, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information

At the time of decimalisation in 1971, the United Kingdom Crown coin (equal to 5 shillings) was redenominated as a 25p coin and pieces struck prior to 1990 - all the way back to 1818 - continue to be legal tender for that amount. The old denomination had been a regular circulating coin in the 19th century, but in the 20th century it became more of a commemorative denomination.

The Royal Mint continued issuing commemorative coins in the same format - using the traditional coin dimensions, but in copper-nickel. These were initially also denominated as 25 pence but the "Crown" was changed in 1990 to a commemorative £5 (five pound) coin, having the same dimensions and weight but with a face value twenty times as great.

The denomination is used to mark special occasions, usually royal in theme, rather than for use in general circulation. Although not circulating, these coins are legal tender.

This commemorative £5 Crown-sized coin marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1874 - 1965) was a British politician, army officer, and writer. He was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, when he led Britain to victory in the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Widely considered one of the 20th century's most significant figures, Churchill remains popular in Britain and throughout the West, where he is seen as a victorious wartime leader who played an important role in defending Europe's liberal democracy from the spread of fascism. Praised as a social reformer and accomplished writer, among his many awards was the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The reverse design by Mark Richards is reminiscent of the 1965 commemorative crown coin issued immediately after Churchill's death.