Benedetto Pistrucci

1783–1855 · Chief Engraver, Royal Mint (1828–1855)

Italian-born gem engraver who designed the most enduring image on British coinage: St George and the Dragon, first cut for the 1817 sovereign and still used on every gold sovereign struck today. Pistrucci was hugely talented and deeply controversial, his Coronation crown for George IV and his refusal to copy Thomas Wyon's portrait drove him into long disputes with the Royal Mint. The St George reverse alone secures his place as the single most important figure in British coin design.

£200,000
Highest realised work: 5 Pounds - George III Pattern
84
Coins in catalogue
11
Decades active
Reverse of an 1893 five pound coin showing Benedetto Pistrucci’s St George and the dragon, Cleveland Museum of Art
Reverse of an 1893 five pound coin with Benedetto Pistrucci’s St George, held by the Cleveland Museum of Art.Image: Benedetto Pistrucci - Five Pounds (reverse) - - Cleveland Museum of Art by Benedetto Pistrucci, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Notable works

1817 sovereign reverse St George and the Dragon, debuted that year and used continuously since.
1820 George IV crown Pistrucci's elaborate and famously unwieldy crown design.
1819 St George halfcrown patterns Patterns now considered some of the finest British design work.

Benedetto Pistrucci coins in our catalogue (84)

Coins where Benedetto Pistrucci is credited as the obverse or reverse designer. Click any coin for full grade-by-grade prices, mintage, and reference images. Grouped by decade.

1810s 15 coins

1 Shilling - George III New coinage 1816–1820 · 26,139,900 · £300 ½ Crown - George III 1st portrait 1816–1817 · £1,320 6 Pence - George III New coinage 1816–1820 · £130 1 Crown - George III Pattern; Silver 1817 1 Penny - George III Maundy Coinage 1817–1820 · 10,000 1 Sovereign - George III Pattern 1817 · £1,351 1 Sovereign - George III 1817–1820 · 3,235,239 · £57,500 ½ Crown - George III 2nd portrait 1817–1820 · 8,092,656 · £2,000 ½ Sovereign - George III 1817–1820 · 2,080,197 · £3,623 2 Pence - George III Maundy issues 1817–1820 · 2,376 3 Pence - George III Maundy issues 1817–1820 · 1,584 4 Pence - George III Maundy issues 1817–1820 · 1,386 · Key 1 Crown - George III Pattern; Base Metal 1818 · £703 1 Crown - George III Pattern; Silver 1818 1 Crown - George III 1818–1820 · 155,200 · £19,627

1820s 12 coins

½ Crown - George IV 1st portrait; 1st reverse 1820–1823 · 2,396,500 · £2,800 2 Pounds - George III Pattern 1820 · 60 · £30,196 · Key 5 Pounds - George III Pattern 1820 · 25 · £200,000 · Key 1 Crown - George IV 1st portrait 1821–1822 · 437,976 · £12,078 1 Shilling - George IV 1st portrait; 1st reverse 1821 · 2,463,120 · £4,000 1 Sovereign - George IV 1821–1825 · 9,405,114 · £15,098 ½ Sovereign - George IV 1st reverse 1821 · 231,288 · £6,000 6 Pence - George IIII 1st reverse 1821 · 863,280 · £296 1 Shilling - George IV 1st portrait; 2nd reverse 1823–1825 · 693,000 · £180 ½ Crown - George IV 1st portrait; 2nd reverse 1823–1824 · 2,003,760 · £10,568 ½ Sovereign - George IV 2nd reverse 1823–1825 · 224,280 · £850 6 Pence - George IIII 2nd reverse 1824–1826 · 633,600 · £22

1870s 2 coins

1 Sovereign - Victoria Pattern 1870 · £699 1 Sovereign - Victoria 1st portrait; St George 1871–1885 · 8,767,250 · £23,402

1880s 4 coins

1 Crown - Victoria 2nd portrait 1887–1892 · 273,581 · £4,152 1 Sovereign - Victoria 2nd portrait 1887–1892 · 1,111,280 · £5,473 · Key 2 Pounds - Victoria 2nd portrait 1887 · 91,345 · £34,725 · Key 5 Pounds - Victoria 2nd portrait 1887 · 53,844 · £105,684 · Key

1890s 5 coins

1 Crown - Victoria 3rd portrait 1893–1900 · 497,845 · £17,366 1 Sovereign - Victoria 3rd portrait 1893–1901 · 6,898,260 · £13,965 ½ Sovereign - Victoria 3rd portrait 1893–1901 · 4,426,625 · £3,248 · Key 2 Pounds - Victoria 3rd portrait 1893 · 52,212 · £14,343 · Key 5 Pounds - Victoria 3rd portrait 1893 · 20,405 · £113,233 · Key

1900s 5 coins

1 Sovereign - Edward VII 1902–1910 · 4,737,796 · £2,869 ½ Sovereign - Edward VII 1902–1910 · 4,244,457 · £623 2 Pounds - Edward VII 1902 · 45,807 · £9,000 5 Pounds - Edward VII 1902 · 34,910 · £9,000 1 Sovereign - Edward VII Ottawa mint 1908–1910 · 636 · Key

1910s 5 coins

1 Sovereign - George V 1911–1925 · 30,044,105 · £5,473 ½ Sovereign - George V 1911–1915 · 6,104,106 · £3,095 2 Pounds - George V 1911 · 2,812 · £5,500 5 Pounds - George V 1911 · 2,812 · £37,744 1 Sovereign - George V Bombay mint 1918 · 1,296,033 · £1,038

1930s 4 coins

1 Sovereign - George VI 1937 · 5,501 · £9,000 · Key ½ Sovereign - George VI 1937 · 5,501 · £4,000 · Key 2 Pounds - George VI 1937 · 5,501 · £7,100 · Key 5 Pounds - George VI 1937 · 5,501 · £19,627 · Key

1950s 3 coins

5 Shillings - George VI Festival of Britain 1951 · 1,983,540 · £16 · Key 1 Sovereign - Elizabeth II 1st portrait; Pattern 1953 1 Sovereign - Elizabeth II 1st portrait 1957–1968 · 2,072,000 · £52,869

2010s 3 coins

½ Sovereign - Elizabeth II 4th portrait; modified reverse, with BP 2011–2015 · 5,287 · £790 20 Pounds - Elizabeth II St George and Dragon; Fine Silver 2013 · 248,376 · £50 ½ Sovereign - Elizabeth II 5th portrait 2015–2021 · 1,046 · £531

2020s 26 coins

10 Pounds - Charles III St George & The Dragon; Silver Piedfort 2024 10 Pounds - Charles III St George & The Dragon; Silver Proof 2024 10 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Allied Leaders; Silver Piedfort 2024 10 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Allied Leaders; Silver Proof 2024 1000 Pounds - Charles III St George & The Dragon; Gold Proof 2024 1000 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Allied Leaders; Gold Proof 2024 1000 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Allied Leaders; Silver Proof 2024 200 Pounds - Charles III St George & The Dragon; Gold Proof 2024 · £6,039 200 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Allied Leaders; Gold Proof 2024 · £6,417 2000 Pounds - Charles III St George & The Dragon; Gold Proof 2024 2000 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Allied Leaders; Gold Proof 2024 500 Pounds - Charles III St George & The Dragon; Gold Proof 2024 500 Pounds - Charles III St George & The Dragon; Silver Proof 2024 500 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Allied Leaders; Gold Proof 2024 500 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Allied Leaders; Silver Proof 2024 5000 Pounds - Charles III St George & The Dragon; Gold Proof 2024 5000 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Allied Leaders; Gold Proof 2024 10 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Victory; Silver Piedfort 2025 10 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Victory; Silver Proof 2025 1000 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Victory; Gold Proof 2025 1000 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Victory; Silver Proof 2025 200 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Victory; Gold Proof 2025 2000 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Victory; Gold Proof 2025 500 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Victory; Gold Proof 2025 500 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Victory; Silver Proof 2025 · £1,887 5000 Pounds - Charles III Waterloo Medal - Victory; Gold Proof 2025

Other UK coin designers

Benedetto Pistrucci William Wyon Leonard Charles Wyon Bertram Mackennal Mary Gillick Arnold Machin Raphael Maklouf Ian Rank-Broadley Jody Clark Martin Jennings Christopher Le Brun Christopher Ironside Matthew Dent Stephen Taylor Edwina Ellis Bruce Rushin Stephen Raw

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