Silver Kilo 2021 Queen's 95th Birthday, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information

Like many other mints, the Royal Mint issues bullion coins in precious metals, having much higher intrinsic value than their face value. Most of these by tradition are measured in troy ounces of fractions thereof, but the mint also introduced metric coins measuring one kilogram of pure metal (they are actually fractionally heavier as a whole, to account for the small amount of other metal in the alloy).

The 1 kg silver coins are denominated as Five Hundred Pounds (£500), although their intrinsic (bullion) value is much higher than their face value. The coins vary in design depending on the occasion (they are "one-year" types usually issued in parallel with smaller denominations with the same reverse designs).

The coins are legal tender but are not intended for circulation. They are targeted at bullion investors or collectors who appreciate the special editions as pieces of art.

This 1 kg silver commemorative coin celebrates the 95th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II on April 5 2021.

The coin features the words "my heart and my devotion" which references part of her 1957 Christmas broadcast, which was the first to be televised.

During the speech the young Queen said: "In the old days the monarch led his soldiers on the battlefield and his leadership at all times was close and personal. Today things are very different. I cannot lead you into battle, I do not give you laws or administer justice, but I can do something else, I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations."

At a first look, the sculptor’s coin design for The Queen’s 95th birthday is a beautiful, floral arrangement but there are very carefully considered elements. There are nine roses, one for each decade The Queen has lived through, and 54 leaves on the face of the coin, each representing a country of the Commonwealth, one of Her Majesty’s greatest legacies. These tiny details all spring from "flourishes", which are used in heraldry and calligraphy as Gary explains:

“You’ll see it on paper money, official documents, and even royal signatures have shown very elaborate flourishes. Some flourishes reminded me of streamers that might be thrown or seen at parties. The flourishes I designed may look symmetrical at first, but when you look closely there are four intertwining and organic ‘shoots’.”

This reverse design by Gary Breeze can be seen on the Gold Proof five-ounce and kilo coins and the Silver Proof five-ounce and kilo coins in the collection. A second design was created by calligrapher and heraldic artist Timothy Noad. It features the national floral emblems of the four UK nations gathered in a birthday ‘posy’ for The Queen, and the design can be seen on the two-ounce Gold Proof, two-ounce Silver Proof, Quarter-ounce gold Proof and £5 coins in the Queen's 95th Birthday collection.