5 Pounds - Charles III Queen Elizabeth II: The Arnold Machin Portrait (2026)
"Arnold Machin Portrait £5"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 2026 |
| Denomination | 5 Pounds |
| Face value | £5 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Copper-nickel |
| Weight | 28.280g |
| Diameter | 38.6mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Martin Jennings |
| Rev. artist | Gordon Summers |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Uncrowned portrait of King Charles III left, legend around.
· CHARLES III · D · G · REX · F · D · 5 POUNDS ·
Second crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, Legend right.
PORTRAIT OF A QUEEN 1968-1984
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not a sale of this coinWe have no sold price for this coin yet. This range is the middle of what 12 similar coins sold for in circulated condition: the same denomination and metal, struck within 5 years. Treat it as a guide, not a valuation.
- £8.66
- £21.50
- £17.42
- £24.53
- £14.73
About the 2026 5 Pounds - Charles III Queen Elizabeth II: The Arnold Machin Portrait
The 2026 5 Pounds - Charles III Queen Elizabeth II: The Arnold Machin Portrait is a collector 5 pounds coin, struck in copper-nickel. It weighs 28.28g and measures 38.61mm across. Reverse design: Second crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, Legend right.
Common questions
How much is the 2026 5 Pounds - Charles III Queen Elizabeth II: The Arnold Machin Portrait worth?
No verified sale of the 2026 5 Pounds - Charles III Queen Elizabeth II: The Arnold Machin Portrait has been logged on MyCoinage yet.
Who designed the Arnold Machin Portrait £5?
The portrait is Arnold Machin's second definitive effigy of Elizabeth II, made for the decimal coinage. The Royal Mint credits Gordon Summers as reverse designer of this 2026 coin. The portrait of King Charles III on the obverse is by Martin Jennings.
Why does the coin say 1968-1984?
The royal proclamation gives the inscription PORTRAIT OF A QUEEN 1968-1984. The Royal Mint dates Machin's portrait to 1968, ahead of decimalisation, and the next portrait, by Raphael Maklouf, to 1985. The Royal Mint Museum says Machin's portrait was introduced in 1971.
How many Arnold Machin Portrait £5 coins were made?
The Royal Mint has published no struck or sold figure for the Brilliant Uncirculated coin. Its commemorative coin sales pages currently stop at coins dated 2023, and the coin is too recent to appear in them.
Is the Portraits of a Queen £5 legal tender?
Yes, the proclamation makes it legal tender for any amount in the United Kingdom. The Royal Mint says the £5 coin is a commemorative issue that does not circulate, that most retailers do not accept it, and that banks are not required to take crowns.
How do I identify the 2026 5 Pounds - Charles III Queen Elizabeth II: The Arnold Machin Portrait?
Check the weight 28.28g and diameter 38.61mm and the metal (copper-nickel) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21 April 1926, and for the centenary year the Royal Mint issued five £5 crowns, each carrying one of her definitive coinage portraits. This is the second release. It revives the portrait by Arnold Machin, which the Mint says was created for the coins struck for decimalisation.
The Mint records that, with decimalisation approaching, many thought a new portrait would help the public tell the new coins from the old. Teams competed for the commission, among them a Royal Academy group that included the sculptor Arnold Machin RA, who won. Machin said he wished to "produce a design with charm and dignity and yet without sentimentality". The Queen sat for him four times while he sketched and modelled in clay, and the Duke of Edinburgh followed the work closely.
This is a Brilliant Uncirculated collector coin. No struck or sold figure has been published.
The reverse reproduces Machin's portrait, and the Royal Mint's £5 design list credits Gordon Summers as reverse designer of the 2026 coin. The Royal Mint Museum notes that Machin replaced the laurel wreath of the first portrait with a tiara. The proclamation gives the inscription as PORTRAIT OF A QUEEN 1968-1984, in line with the Royal Mint's dating of Machin's portrait to 1968 and of Raphael Maklouf's to 1985.
The obverse has Martin Jennings's portrait of King Charles III with CHARLES III D G REX F D 5 POUNDS and the date 2026. The edge is milled.
Collecting notes
No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin.
The Royal Mint Museum says Machin's portrait was introduced in 1971, when all the coins were replaced for decimalisation, so it is familiar from older change; this crown is a 2026 collector piece, not one of those coins. Check the face and the open field for handling marks on a loose example.
The design was also struck as a silver proof, a silver proof piedfort and a gold proof. The series opens with the Mary Gillick portrait and continues with the Raphael Maklouf portrait. It is legal tender, but the Royal Mint says the £5 coin does not circulate.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- £5 Coin Designs and Specifications, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Portraits of a Queen - Elizabeth II The Second Effigy 2026 UK £5 Brilliant Uncirculated Coin, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining the specifications and designs for a new series of gold, standard silver, silver piedfort and five pound cupro-nickel coins (notice 4894491, 13 June 2025), The Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- The Coinage Portraits of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II: the Artists' Stories, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Elizabeth II on coins, The Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
- The Second Effigy (range page), The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Commemorative Coin Striking Numbers, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- What is a £5 Crown?, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- First Coins of 2026 Revealed by The Royal Mint (press release, 2 January 2026), The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
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