Silver coin increases in value tenfold
As finews.ch reports, the silver coin was released in 2019 for just 250 francs (around 256 euros). With the death of the Queen, the price has now literally exploded. A restrike of the famous coin now costs 2,500 francs (around 2,562 euros). However, these coins have always been popular, as Marianne Rapp Ohmann of the Rapp auction house explains. This is a restrike of the silver coin “Una and the lion” from 1839. The original is worth millions of francs and is very rare, but there are only 3,000 of the restrikes worldwide.
The story behind Una and the lion
First the question: Who is Una and what does she have to do with the Queen? Lady Una is a character from the epic poem “The Faerie Queene” by Edmund Spenser, written circa 1590 during the reign of Elizabeth I. In the poem, Una is the beautiful daughter of the king and queen who were being held captive by a dragon. Una sets out to free her, but encounters a rampant lion who wants to kill her. The lion is so charmed by Una’s beauty and innocence that he decides to help her in her quest and become her protector.
The poem is considered one of the longest in English literature and inspired William Wyon, then Chief Engraver at the Royal Mint, to create a coin representing the saga. Originally, however, it was a gold five-pound coin that Wyon made entirely by hand at the time. The coin features Queen Victoria as Lady Una wielding a lion, symbolizing the strength of the British Empire at the time. In 2019, that story was brought back to life with a two ounce silver coin featuring the likeness of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen’s death increased the coin’s popularity even further.
F. Traina / Editor finanzen.net
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