Uncommon: fewer than 10,000,000 minted. Sells often: 41 verified sales in the last 12 months.
5 Pounds - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait Queen's 70th Birthday (1996)
"Queen's 70th Birthday crown"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1996 |
| Denomination | 5 Pounds |
| Face value | £5 |
| Mintage | 2,396,100 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Copper-nickel |
| Weight | 28.280g |
| Diameter | 38.6mm |
| Thickness | 2.89mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain with incuse lettering: VIVAT REGINA ELIZABETHA |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Raphael Maklouf |
| Rev. artist | Avril Vaughan |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Third crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the George IV State Diadem, legend around.
ELIZABETH.II.DEI.GRATIA.REGINA.F.D. FIVE POUNDS
Windsor Castle with Royal Standard, the Union Flag, and the Queen's personal flag. Two accompanying pennants bear the anniversary dates.
Queen's 70th Birthday £5 Crown market value
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AffiliateQueen's 70th Birthday £5 Crown price history
Daily limit reachedQueen's 70th Birthday £5 Crown value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNC | £12.99 🔒 eBay | £7.26 | – | £5.45 – £12.99 | 4 | 4 | 30-09-2026 | |
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| BU | £4.00 🔒 eBay | £5.00 (2) | – | £4.00 – £5.99 | 2 | 2 | 29-08-2026 | |
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| VF | £1.16 🔒 eBay | £6.19 | – | £1.16 – £9.99 | 32 | 32 | 08-10-2026 | |
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| PR-65 | £6.63 🔒 eBay | £6.63 | – | £5.13 – £9.95 | 3 | 3 | 25-09-2026 | |
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About the 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Queen's 70th Birthday
The 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Queen's 70th Birthday is a collector 5 pounds coin, struck in copper-nickel. It weighs 28.28g and measures 38.61mm across. Reverse design: Windsor Castle with Royal Standard, the Union Flag, and the Queen's personal flag. Two accompanying pennants bear the anniversary dates.
2,396,100 were struck.
Common questions
How much is the 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Queen's 70th Birthday worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Queen's 70th Birthday run from £5.00 to £7.26 across 4 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
How many 1996 Queen's 70th Birthday £5 coins were made?
The Royal Mint's striking figures give 2,396,100 cupro-nickel crowns struck to circulating standard in 1996. Of the single-design £5 years in the Mint's table only 1990, at 2,761,431, is higher, so this is one of the more common crowns of the 1990s.
What is written on the edge of the 1996 £5 coin?
The edge carries the Latin inscription VIVAT REGINA ELIZABETHA in incuse letters on a plain edge. The royal proclamation for the coin sets out this edge, and it is unusual among early £5 crowns, most of which have a milled edge.
Who designed the Queen's 70th Birthday crown?
Avril Vaughan designed the reverse, a view of Windsor Castle with five flagpoles, according to the Royal Mint. The obverse carries Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen. It was the last crown to use that portrait, since the 1997 crown had a joint portrait by Philip Nathan.
Is the 1996 £5 crown legal tender?
Yes. The proclamation made the cupro-nickel coin legal tender for any amount anywhere in the United Kingdom. The Royal Mint adds that crowns are commemorative, that banks and retailers do not have to accept them, and that the Post Office has agreed to exchange them.
How do I identify the 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Queen's 70th Birthday?
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
This crown celebrates the 70th birthday of Elizabeth II, who was born in 1926. A royal proclamation given at Buckingham Palace on 23 November 1995, and in force from the next day, ordered £5 coins in gold, silver and cupro-nickel to commemorate the birthday. The same proclamation made the cupro-nickel coin legal tender for any amount throughout the United Kingdom.
The Royal Mint's striking figures give 2,396,100 cupro-nickel crowns struck to circulating standard in 1996, the only crown design that year. It sits between the 1990 Queen Mother crown (2,761,431) and the 1993 Coronation anniversary crown (1,834,655), and above both crowns that followed it, for 1997 and 1998.
Avril Vaughan designed the reverse. The proclamation describes Windsor Castle with five flagpoles in front and above. From them fly a forked pennant with the date 1926, the Queen's Royal Arms in banner form, roped and tasselled, the Union Flag, her Personal Flag, and a second forked pennant dated 1996. The two pennants carry her birth year and the anniversary year.
The obverse carries Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen with the inscription ELIZABETH.II.DEI.GRATIA.REGINA.F.D. and the words FIVE POUNDS. The edge is unusual for a crown of this period. Instead of the milled edge the Royal Mint lists for the £5, the proclamation gives a plain edge with the incuse inscription VIVAT REGINA ELIZABETHA.
Collecting notes
The Royal Mint says "Crowns are issued to mark special occasions rather than for use in general circulation", so most survivors are uncirculated. The flags and the castle towers are the high points; look there and in the open sky for contact marks. Check the edge as well: the lettering should be complete and evenly struck.
The coin is legal tender, but the Mint warns that banks and retailers do not have to accept crowns. The Post Office has agreed to exchange them. Silver and gold proof versions share the design and the proclamation's lettered edge.
Avril Vaughan returned to the £5 in 2002 with the Queen Mother memorial crown. For the earlier Maklouf-portrait crown see the 1990 Queen Mother crown.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Commemorative Coin Striking Numbers, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- £5 Coin Designs and Specifications, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining the specifications and design for five-pound coins commemorating our seventieth birthday (London Gazette 54228, page 16192), The Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- How can I dispose of commemorative crowns? And why do some have a higher face value than others?, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Legal Tender Guidelines, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 1996 £5 Crown, Check Your Change (read 10 Oct 2026)
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