A classic gold coin design is now available in silver bullion form. The Pobjoy Mint has released a 2019 1-ounce silver bullion coin for the British Virgin Islands depicting the famous Una and the Lion design.

The coin also commemorates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria, the young ruler who is paired with the beast in the iconic scene.

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Born May 24, 1819, at Kensington Palace in London, Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from June 20, 1837, until her death Jan. 22, 1901. 

The reverse design is a recreation of the beautiful and famous Una and the Lion design of 1839, which was created by the celebrated 19th century numismatic sculptor William Wyon.

The theme for the coin was drawn from Edmund Spenser’s poem Faerie Queene, which tells the tale of Una’s travels and the lion that follows Princess Una and is so mesmerized by her beauty that he becomes her companion and protector. 

For the coin design, Una was modeled on the 19-year-old Queen Victoria. Representing truth and purity, she gracefully points the way forward with the lion beside her. The lion passant gardant is an ancient symbol of Britain.

The wording DIEU ET MON DROIT Latin for “God and my Right,” the motto of the British monarch, appears in the surround of the coin with the year 2019 shown in Roman numerals (MMXIX) beneath the plinth on which Una and the Lion stand.

During Queen Victoria’s reign, the harvesting of salt from the lake was an annual tradition on Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands. It was customary for the administrator of the Virgin Islands, and later governments there, to send one pound of the salt to the monarch on his or her birthday. 

This tradition fell into disuse but in 2015 was renewed, and for the first time in many years a pound of salt from Salt Island was presented to the sovereign.

The obverse of the 2019 coin features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (great, great granddaughter of Queen Victoria) produced exclusively for Pobjoy Mint.

The bullion coin weighs 31.103 grams,  measures 38.6 millimeters in diameter and has a mintage limit of 50,000 pieces.

Collectors and investors may purchase the coin direct from the issuer at the Pobjoy Mint’s website. 

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