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Britain's 'most beautiful coin' sold for £110,000

Matthew RichardsBBC Wales
News imageRogers Jones and Co a close up of the gold coin looking from below with the latin words anno regni on the round edge. the coin face shows a lion walking submissively beside a woman in a flowing queen victorian style gown and holding a rod over the lion's head. Rogers Jones and Co
Fewer than 300 "Una and the Lion" five pound coins were produced, including one found in Bangor

A coin considered the "most beautiful" ever minted in Britain has sold at auction for £110,000.

The "Una and the Lion" five-pound coin was part of a private collection found during a probate valuation at a house near Bangor, Gwynedd.

The gold coin was never in general circulation, with fewer than 300 produced in 1839 to commemorate the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign.

It depicts the Queen as a fictional character from a 16th Century poem leading a lion.

The record sale price for a "Una and the Lion" coin is £340,000.

Auction house Rogers Jones and Co said it is "widely considered the most beautiful British coin ever minted and one of the most valuable in the world due to its extreme rarity, unprecedented artistry, and deep cultural significance".

It was designed by William Wyon, the Royal Mint's chief engraver for much of the 19th Century, and is regarded as his crowning achievement.

News imageRogers Jones and Co the coin in a clear case being held up between the index fingers and thumbs of a man wearing white gloves and a green shirt with his head down staring intently at the coin Rogers Jones and Co
The coin is considered to be a "holy grail" by collectors

It was the first time a British monarch was depicted as a fictional character on a coin.

Wyon portrayed Victoria - who became Queen in 1837, ruling until her death in 1901 - as Lady Una from Edmund Spenser's 1590 poem "The Faerie Queene", representing truth and purity.

The design shows her guiding a lion, said to symbolise her poise and the strength of the British nation under her leadership.

News imageRogers Jones and Co The coin face one showing the queen and the lion side. You can see her cape and the globe she is holding to her hip and the crown on her head. Rogers Jones and Co
A condition report says the coin has "light hairlines and handling scuffs throughout"

Rogers Jones and Co said the blend of literature, art, and royal history has made it a "holy grail" for coin collectors.

Auctioneer Charles Hampshire, who conducted the sale in Chester, said beforehand: "The original scarcity of these coins means that they very rarely come to auction, so we're expecting a lot of interest from around the world on this."

An independent consultant and member of the British Numismatic Trade Association has provided a condition report describing the coin as having "a good cameo appearance" with "light hairlines and handling scuffs throughout".