Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation. I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust. A speech by Queen Elizabeth II on her coronation day, July 2, 1953. It was the moment when, in a ceremony steeped in history, a young queen was formally invested with regalia, anointed and crowned, becoming the first monarch to be crowned Queen of Canada. Depicted on this 5 oz. Fine silver tribute, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was a ceremony laden with centuries of tradition, but the event also marked the dawn of a new, modern era for our young nation and for its 27-year-old queen. Few who witnessed the coronation on July 2, 1953, could have predicted the advancements that would be achieved during Queen Elizabeth II’s unprecedented long reign. Having already vowed to devote her life to serving others in 1947, Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation oath further bound her to a lifetime of service, duty and devotion to her people: the things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep. Held at Westminster Abbey, the coronation was the first of its kind to be broadcast live on television-a defining moment for a medium still in its infancy. As part of a coordinated effort dubbed “Operation Pony Express, ” the coronation was filmed and the footage was flown from London (United Kingdom) to Goose Bay, Newfoundland; the film canisters were then transferred to a Canadian CF-100 fighter plane bound for Montreal, where the new studio would broadcast the event just a few hours after they had taken place in London. On the coin’s reverse, Queen Elizabeth II holds the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, or the “rod of Equity and Mercy, ” which serves as a symbol of good governance. It is one of two sceptres used during a coronation-the other is the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Dove. Commissioned in 1661, the sceptre was altered in 1910 in order to receive the world’s largest colourless cut diamond, the Cullinan I. Also on the coin’s reverse, the Sovereign’s Orb is a representation of the Christian world. The hollow gold sphere is mounted with pearls, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, rose-cut diamonds and one amethyst. Just like the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, the Orb was created for the coronation of King Charles II in 1661. The reverse design features a depiction of Queen Elizabeth II seated in the Gold State Coach on the day of her coronation on June 2, 1953. Clad in her coronation dress and robe, the newly crowned Queen of Canada is wearing the Imperial State Crown, and holds the Sovereign’s Orb and Sceptre with Cross in each hand. The reverse design peers into the past and into the Gold State Coach for a view of the newly crowned Queen of Canada. The depiction includes coronation regalia such as the Sovereign’s Orb and Sceptre-ceremonial objects not typically featured on Canada’s coins. Marked by a small Tudor rose, the tribute obverse combines the four different effigies that have graced Canadian coins since Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. This obverse is only featured on the numismatic coins in the Queen Elizabeth II’s Reign collection. A nation remembers. Every numismatic coin in the Queen Elizabeth II’s Reign collection comes packaged with a special beauty box. A rare keepsake. Mintage is limited to just 1,750 coins worldwide. Packaging: The coin comes encapsulated and housed in a clamshell case. Packaged in a commemorative Queen Elizabeth II’s Reign beauty box. THIS ITEM IS GST / HST EXEMPT. Citadel Coins Halifax, Nova Scotia Official Royal Canadian Mint Distributor.
