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Two Pound Piece: George IV (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse)
Benedetto Pistrucci, Francis Leggatt Chantrey, Jean Baptiste Merlen1823
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
During the reign of King George IV, two-pound pieces were struck for circulation in 1823 only. Pattern pieces appeared in 1824, 1825, and 1826. The king was so disgusted with the caricature of a portrait that Pistrucci placed on the first coins of the reign that the artist was ordered to model a new obverse from a bust by the sculptor Sir Francis Chantrey (1781–1841). Pistrucci refused; it was beneath his dignity to copy the work of another artist. The work was therefore carried out by J. B. Merlen, assistant engraver at the Royal Mint.
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Details
- Title: Two Pound Piece: George IV (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse)
- Creator: Benedetto Pistrucci (Italian, 1784-1855), Francis Legatt Chantrey (British, 1781-1841), Jean Baptiste Merlen (French, 1769–1850)
- Date Created: 1823
- Physical Dimensions: Diameter: 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.)
- Provenance: Mrs. Emery May Holden Norweb (1895-1984), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Coins
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.214
- Medium: gold
- Inscriptions: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D: GEORGIUS IIII D: G:, 1895
- Fun Fact: This is the only modern British coin on which the initials of the Master of the Mint, William Wellesley Pole, appear, on the reverse below the broken lance.
- Department: Medieval Art
- Culture: England, George IV, 1820-1830
- Credit Line: The Norweb Collection
- Collection: MED - Numismatics
- Accession Number: 1969.214
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