'Elizabeth I 1558 - 1603' Commemorative Strike

Elizabeth I is also known as The Virgin Queen as she never married or had any children. At the age of twenty-five, she became the third queen to ascend to the English throne. Her forty-four year reign heralded one of the most successful periods in English history. An entire epoch was named after her - the Elizabethan Age. Her secret name was 'Cat', a reference to how she was supposed to have toyed with her cabinet members. Elizabeth herself once claimed: 'I may not be a lion, but I am a lion's cub, and I have a lion's heart'.

The 24-carat gold-plated 'Queen Elizabeth I' commemorative strike is highly sought-after by collectors worldwide as a unique record of British history. The detailed colour reproduction is based on a portrait dating from around 1600. It was painted by the queen's favourite court painter Isaac Oliver.