Elite: fewer than 10,000 minted.
5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Queen's 70th Birthday Gold Proof (1996)
Circulating version: 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Queen's 70th Birthday
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1996 |
| Denomination | 5 Pounds |
| Face value | £5 |
| Mintage | 2,127 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Gold (.9167) (917/1000 fine) |
| Weight | 39.940g · 1.1771 t oz |
| Diameter | 38.6mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Third crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the George IV State Diadem, legend around.
Windsor Castle with Royal Standard, the Union Flag, and the Queen's personal flag. Two accompanying pennants bear the anniversary dates.
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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 3 similar coins sold for as issued: the same denomination and metal, struck within 5 years. The lower figure is its metal value today. Treat it as a guide, not a valuation.
- £2,120
- £4,563
- £2,130
About the 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Queen's 70th Birthday – Gold Proof
The 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Queen's 70th Birthday – Gold Proof is a collector 5 pounds coin, struck in 91.67% gold. It weighs 39.94g 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.
2,127 were struck.
Common questions
How much is the 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Queen's 70th Birthday – Gold Proof worth?
No verified sale of the 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Queen's 70th Birthday – Gold Proof has been logged on MyCoinage yet. Its gold content is worth about £3,527 at today's spot price, which puts a floor under its value.
How is the 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Queen's 70th Birthday – Gold Proof different from the circulating coin?
This is a collector version of the 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Queen's 70th Birthday, not the coin found in change. At 39.94g of 91.67% gold it is heavier than the 28.28g nickel circulating coin, so weighing it is the quickest check.
How do I identify the 1996 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Queen's 70th Birthday – Gold Proof?
Check the weight 39.94g and diameter 38.61mm and the metal (91.67% gold) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
This is a collector version of the 5 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Queen's 70th Birthday. The history below is that coin's; the mintage, varieties and collecting notes on its page do not apply to this strike.
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.
Sources
- 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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