Pobjoy Mint recently announced it will no longer represent the Isle of Man as the country’s official legal-tender mint.
Taya Pobjoy, managing director, said the mint will be striking its final silver Reverse Proof Angel coin, which will have a mintage of 100,000 pieces, a weight of 31.103 grams and a 38.6-mm diameter.
The Angel was a gold coin originally introduced into England by Edward IV in 1465 as a new issue of the Noble. Based on a French coin, the Angelot or Ange, its name was derived from the representation of the Archangel St. Michael. A truly iconic coin the Angel, depicting an image of the Archangel Michael slaying the dragon, was thought to bring good luck and health and was traditionally given to sufferers of the disease the ‘King’s evil’ or scrofula, in a mediaeval ceremony intending to cure them with the “royal touch.”
This modern Angel – one of the world’s foremost bullion coins – continues to uphold this tradition by being the third design in the coin’s history since the first Angel was issued in 1984. The design depicts a modern twist of the Angel St. Michael and the dragon with a frosted background. Approved by Buckingham Palace, this coin carries an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley.