Great Britain Gold Half Sovereign 1997 PROOF
The Great Britain Gold Half Sovereign 1997 year On the reverse of the coin is the likeness of St. George. On the reverse of the coin there is an image of St. George."A very long time ago, supposedly in the 3rd century, somewhere in the East, most probably in Asia Minor, there appeared in the royal city of Libba a powerful monster - a dragon. The creature was horrible, not only was its appearance frightening, but it also spread plague, poisoning the air with its breath. Many of the inhabitants died because of it. In order to appease and satisfy the dragon's appetite, the terrified inhabitants decided to give him their sheep to eat, two a day. However, the dragon's appetite knew no bounds and it eventually ran out of sheep. The desperate inhabitants, frightened by the dragon's cruelty, were ready to offer their own children to the dragon as food. These were to be young maidens of high birth - virgins. Such was the fate of the young and beautiful daughter of the king who ruled the city. The distraught girl was led to the dragon. And when he started to get to her, the princess begged God for help. God heard her plea, took pity on the brave maiden and sent a saviour - a brave knight named George - to help. Seeing the virgin's despair, he made the sign of the cross and stabbed the monster with his lance. The wounded dragon became frightened by the sign of the cross and stopped being threatening. The princess, at the command of the knight - George, threw the gown belt around the dragon's neck and led it to the middle of the town. There, in the town square, Knight George finished the job and, making the sign of the cross, cut off the dragon's head in front of the people. Joy reigned in the town. As a reward for saving the city from the foul dragon, the king wanted to give the brave knight George his saved daughter as his wife. However, George, feeling his vocation to the clerical state, refused. So the king decided to convert with the inhabitants to the Christian faith and built a church in honour of the Virgin Mary and St George. When the church was completed, a spring gushed from under the altar. And the sick who drank from it regained their health. Its water was recognised as healing. George went on his journey, and having seen how the pagans persecuted the Christians, he distributed his wealth to the poor and began to preach the teachings of Christ. This did not please the pagan ruler very much. He imprisoned George. He was subjected to torture and even attempted poisoning. Among other things, he was condemned to suffer by breaking the wheel. Despite these sufferings, he remained faithful to Christ. For this the pagan ruler condemned him to be beheaded with the sword".The coin is minted by the British mint, The Royal Mint . This mint was opened over 1,100 years ago, initially producing coins only for England, possibly the United Kingdom. Initially it was not known where it was located, but in 1279 , the mint moved its headquarters to the Tower of London.In 1811, they relocated again close to Tower Hill. In 1969 they moved to Llantrisant in South Wales.The Mint produces most of the coins for the UK, as well as for many other countries. There is a small gift shop next to the mint headquarters, but entry to the mint itself is prohibited. The closure of the mint to the public took place in 1969 , for health, safety and insurance reasons.Since 2010 it has operated as Royal Mint Ltd, a company owned by the Treasury. The obverse presents the likeness of Queen Elizabeth II wearing a crown. Around the rim is the inscription "ELIZABETH II DEI GRA REGINA FID DEF" On the reverse is the likeness of Saint George III on horseback, during his victorious battle with the dragon. On the reverse there is also information on the year the coin was minted (the coins we sell are from the 1997 vintage) MEMBERSHIP MINTED MIRROR STEMPLE COINS IN 7,500 SHARES Delivery time: 24h