Information about effigy: Queen Victoria - Portrait by Leonard Charles Wyon (Bun Head)

The dies for the new bronze coinage in 1860 were engraved by Leonard Charles Wyon, then Engraver to the Mint, who designed both the reverse and the obverse; he had earlier designed Queen Victoria's effigy with a banksia in her hair for the gold coinage of New South Wales.

His portrait, based on a model by William Theed, features a bust of Queen Victoria facing left wearing bodice and a mantle decorated with rose, thistle and shamrock (the floral symbols of the constituent parts of the United Kingdom - England, Scotland and Ireland respectively); in her hair is a wreath of leaves and berries tied at back with ribbon, her hair is drawn to a plaited bun behind; she wears a circular brooch; at the back of her shoulder, a small part of the Star of the Garter is visible, with a small part of its motto ("HONI SO"...) readable.

On the smallest coins (e.g. the third-farthing denomination) the lower part of the portrait is not shown and it is truncated at the neck.

The effigy is also known as the Queen's "Second Laureate Portrait".

The effigy was updated later to show a slightly older monarch.

Queen Victoria - early Bun Head portrait

United Kingdom / Penny 1863

Seen on this bronze penny is the original version of Leonard Wyon's portrait of Queen Victoria. The relief is more detailed, and the monarch looks young.

Queen Victoria - later Bun Head portrait

United Kingdom / Penny 1889

On a later bronze penny, the updated "Bun Head" portrait of Queen Victoria shows many subtle differences with the first version. The Queen appears older, indicated most obviously by the thick neck. The profile is more coarse, the nose irregular, the eye closer to the bridge of the nose. The hair below the wreath is much straighter and there is a groove between the back of the head and the "bun". Only the top of the rose on the neckline is showing, and the design on the mantle is lower so that the bottom half of the thistle and some rose leaves no longer appear.