COIN COMMEMORATES QUEEN ELIZABETH II CORONATION

The government and treasury of the British Indian Ocean Territory have issued (25th January) a new crown coin and gold coin which were minted in celebration of one of most solemn events that took place in the United Kingdom 65 years ago: The Queen’s coronation.

It was nearly 66 years ago that the then-Princess Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, King George VI. The succession occurred on the 6th February 1952, while the Princess, along with her husband Prince Philip were en-route to Australia in place of her ailing father. She was in Kenya on a scheduled stop-over when she was told of the sad news that her beloved father had died and, as such, she was now Queen of Great Britain. The new Queen flew back to London and upon touching down on British soil, she was proclaimed Queen by her various privy and executive councils.

The coronation took place more than a year later due to the tradition that holding such a festival is inappropriate during the period of official court mourning following the death of a monarch. The celebration and solemn ceremony was the first major royal event to be broadcast on television (against Winston Churchill’s advice). It was broadcast in both black and white and colour, and was viewed by 27 million of the then-36 million Britons.

The lion and the unicorn signify the United Kingdom and appear as its heraldic supporters on its coat of arms. The lion represents England and the unicorn represents Scotland. The combination of the two animals dates back to the accession of James I of England in 1603, who was also James VI of Scotland. Over the last 400 years, these animals have become strongly associated with royalty and, by proxy, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

To read the complete article, see:
British Indian Ocean Territory: Beautiful lion and unicorn depicted on coronation anniversary crown coin (http://news.coinupdate.com/british-indian-ocean-territory-beautiful-lion-and-unicorn-depicted-on-coronation-anniversary-crown-coin/)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web