Two Pound Piece: George IV (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse)

1823
designer
(Italian, 1784–1855)

after a design by Francis Legatt Chantrey

(British, 1781–1841)
(French, 1769–1850)
Diameter: 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.)
Weight: 15.962 g (0.56 oz.)
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Location: not on view

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Did You Know?

This is the only modern British coin on which the initials of the Master of the Mint, William Wellesley Pole, appear, on the reverse below the broken lance.

Description

During the reign of King George IV, two-pound pieces were struck for circulation in 1823 only. Pattern pieces appeared in 1824, 1825, and 1826. The king was so disgusted with the caricature of a portrait that Pistrucci placed on the first coins of the reign that the artist was ordered to model a new obverse from a bust by the sculptor Sir Francis Chantrey (1781–1841). Pistrucci refused; it was beneath his dignity to copy the work of another artist. The work was therefore carried out by J. B. Merlen, assistant engraver at the Royal Mint.
Two Pound Piece: George IV (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse)

Two Pound Piece: George IV (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse)

1823

Benedetto Pistrucci, Francis Legatt Chantrey, Jean Baptiste Merlen

(Italian, 1784–1855), (British, 1781–1841), (French, 1769–1850)
England, George IV, 1820-1830

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