During Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, the nation’s circulating coins have featured five different portraits of the monarch.

Mary Gillick portrait -The Queen looked youthful and optimistic and the portrait was used on the coins of the United Kingdom and the coinage of many Commonwealth countries.

Arnold Machin RA portrait - The portrait showed The Queen wearing a tiara instead of a wreath. The tiara had been given to The Queen by her grandmother, Queen Mary. Like Mary Gillick before him, Machin avoided using a ‘couped’ portrait – cut off by the neck – which had been the norm on coins issued earlier in the century.

Raphael Maklouf portrait - The portrait is couped and showed The Queen wearing the royal diadem, which she normally wore on her way to and from the State Opening of Parliament.

Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS portrait - This portrait makes for an interesting contrast with its predecessor, being less idealised and more strongly realistic.  Ian Rank-Broadley explained there was: “No need to disguise the matureness of The Queen’s years. There is no need to flatter her. She is a 70-year-old woman with poise and bearing.” The portrait also appeared as large as possible within the framework of the coin, as he wanted to maximise its impact on smaller coins like the new 5p, 10p and 50p pieces.

Jody Clark portrait - The fifth portrait of The Queen was unveiled in 2015. It is the fourth portrait of The Queen that can be found in circulation today, as the Arnold Machin, Raphael Maklouf and Ian Rank-Broadley portraits all still feature on the coins of the nation. Jody Clark is the first Royal Mint coin designer to design a definitive royal coinage portrait in over 100 years.