June 27, 2013 – On 8th April 2013, former British Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher passed away at the age of 87. To commemorate the life of this remarkable woman, Pobjoy Mint is releasing two coins, one on behalf of Ascension Island and the other on behalf of the Falkland Islands.
Margaret Thatcher. Photo: Margaret Thatcher Foundation / http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en.
Known as the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first and only female Prime Minister as well as the longest serving Prime Minister of the 20th Century and was honoured with a ceremonial funeral with full military honours at St Paul’s Cathedral, the only politician to be granted such a tribute since the death of Winston Churchill in 1965.
The house where Margaret Thatcher was born in Grantham. Photo: Thorvaldsson / http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en.
Born in 1925, the daughter of a grocer, she studied chemistry at Oxford but was involved in politics from an early age. She was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 1975 and made history four years later, becoming Prime Minister when the Conservatives won the elections of 1979, the first of three victories under her leadership. As Prime Minister she took a firm stance with the European Community and also on other issues, both domestic and foreign and thus transformed the nation.
When Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, she despatched a task force to the South Atlantic which drove the enemy off the islands in a military operation which took place 8,000 miles from home. 25 years later, Pobjoy Mint was delighted that Baroness Thatcher was able to visit the Mint on 31st May 2007 to launch a series of coins that were issued to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Falkland Islands and actually struck the first coin stating that “It is a great honour to have been invited to Pobjoy Mint to strike this very special coin which commemorates such a remarkable event”. It was an honour for us to meet such a remarkably courageous and determined lady.
Both coins are a fitting tribute to an amazing woman who, as described by the current British Prime Minister was “a great leader, a great Prime Minister, and a great Briton”.
The design on the Ascension Island coin features a portrait of Baroness Thatcher with the Houses of Parliament and No. 10 Downing Street in the background.
The design on the Falkland Islands coin features a more recent portrait of Baroness Thatcher.
The obverse of each coin carries an effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS. The coins are available in Cupro Nickel, Proof Sterling Silver and Proof Fine 999.9 Gold. The coins are struck to the highest quality with the precious metal versions being produced with a stunning ‘proof’ finish. The design on the coin is in relief with a glorious mirror-finish background. Other sizes may be available – please contact the Mint for details.
For more information on these coins please visit the website of The Pobjoy Mint.
This is the website of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation.
The BBC offers material on Margaret Thatcher in their History section.
Here you can listen how Margaret Thatcher announced the Falkland Invasion to the House of Commons.