Five pounds (British coin)

The British five pound (£5) coin is a commemorative denomination of sterling coinage. As of October 2022, the obverse of new coins feature the profile of King Charles III. The obverse previously depicted Queen Elizabeth II between the coin's introduction in 1990 and the Queen's death in 2022. Two different portraits of the Queen graced the coin, with the last design by Ian Rank-Broadley being introduced in 1998. The coin has no standard reverse; instead it is altered each year to commemorate important events. Variant obverses have also been used on occasion.

The coin is a continuation of the crown, which after decimalisation became the commemorative twenty-five pence coin. The twenty-five pence was discontinued in 1981 after creating a large coin with such small value became prohibitively expensive. The five pound coin shares the same dimensions as the twenty-five pence coin, and the five shilling coin before it, but has a nominal value twenty times greater.

Five pound coins are legal tender but are intended as souvenirs and are rarely seen in circulation. The coins are sold by the Royal Mint at face value and also, with presentation folders, at a premium to that face value. The 2010 coins, with such folders, were sold for £9.95 each. As of 2020 the coin and folder cost £13.

A £5 memorial crown featuring the image of Charles III was released on 3 October 2022.

Separate five pound coin designs have also been released in various British crown dependencies and British Overseas Territories. These are outside of the scope of this article and are not listed below.

Queen Elizabeth II
The designs which have appeared on the five pound coin's reverse are summarised in the table below.

Charles III
C = Circulating

Coin Sets
Additionally, the Royal Mint have released a number of five pound coin sets in silver proof quality.

2012 Olympics Set
A series of 18 commemorative £5 coins were issued to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics.


 * 1) 	Mind   Stonehenge
 * 2) 	Mind	Big Ben
 * 3) 	Mind	Angel of the North
 * 4) 	Mind	Flying Scotsman
 * 5) 	Mind	The Globe Theatre
 * 6) 	Mind	Sir Isaac Newton
 * 7) 	Body	Giant's Causeway
 * 8) 	Body	The Great British Oak
 * 9) 	Body	River Thames
 * 10) 	Body	Weather
 * 11) 	Body	British Fauna
 * 12) 	Body	The Coastline of Britain
 * 13) 	Spirit	Courage
 * 14) 	Spirit	Pageantry
 * 15) 	Spirit	Unity
 * 16) 	Spirit	Music
 * 17) 	Spirit	Humour
 * 18) 	Spirit	Tolerance

Queen's Portrait Set
Four proof coins were released as part of the 2013 Queen's Portrait set. These coins feature the four portraits of Elizabeth II that appear on British coins.

The Portrait of Britain Set
Sixteen silver proof coins have been released as part of the 'Portrait of Britain' set.


 * 2015 Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower)
 * 2015 Tower Bridge
 * 2015 Trafalgar Square
 * 2015 Buckingham Palace
 * 2016 White Cliffs of Dover
 * 2016 Giant's Causeway
 * 2016 Lake District
 * 2016 Snowdonia
 * 2017 Westminster Abbey
 * 2017 Hampton Court Palace
 * 2017 Downing Street
 * 2017 Edinburgh Castle
 * 2018 Blackpool
 * 2018 Brighton
 * 2018 Tenby
 * 2018 Southwold

The First World War Set
A series of silver proof coins have been released as part of the 'First World War' set. 36 coins were released as part of this series.


 * 2014 - British Expeditionary Force
 * 2014 - Royal Navy Coin
 * 2014 - Home Front Coin
 * 2014 - Walter Tull
 * 2014 - Propaganda
 * 2014 - Howitzer Gun
 * 2015 - Albert Ball VC
 * 2015 - Animals at War
 * 2015 - Submarines
 * 2015 - Edith Cavell
 * 2015 - Merchant Navy
 * 2015 - Gallipoli
 * 2016 - Poetry and Language
 * 2016 - The Somme
 * 2016 - Jutland
 * 2016 - Jack Cornwell VC
 * 2016 - The Army
 * 2016 - Dreadnought
 * 2017 - Noel Godfrey Chavasse VC
 * 2017 - The dedication of the medical services
 * 2017 - The cultural importance of the war artist
 * 2017 - The Sopwith Camel
 * 2017 - Gas warfare
 * 2017 - The Battle of Arras
 * 2018 - TE Lawrence
 * 2018 - Ypres
 * 2018 - Tanks
 * 2018 - Royal Air Force
 * 2018 - Women in factories
 * 2018 - Widows left behind
 * 2018 - Remembrance Day
 * 2018 - War Memorials
 * 2018 - Poppies
 * 2018 - Imperial War Museums
 * 2018 - Commonwealth War Graves
 * 2018 - Peace