UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN
REIGN OF ELIZABETH II (1952-PRESENT)
KEW GARDENS 250th ANNIVERSARY
GOLD FIFTY PENCE PIEDFORT DOUBLE-THICK COIN
CERTIFIED BY NGC PROOF 69 ULTRA CAMEO
EXTREMELY RARE - ONLY 40 COINS WERE MINTED!
OBV: PORTRAIT HEAD OF ELIZABETH II WEARING TIARA RIGHT; DENOMINATION BENEATH.
REV: DEPICTION OF THE GREAT PAGODA AT KEW GARDENS ENCIRLED BY STYLIZED VINES; ANNIVERSARY DATES FLANKING.
KEW GARDENS IS A BOTANICAL GARDEN IN SOUTHWEST LONDON, AND HAS THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF LIVING PLANTS IN THE WORLD. OFFICIALLY FOUNDED IN 1840, KEW CAN TRACE ITS BEGINNINGS BACK TO 1759, TO THE EXOTIC GARDEN AT KEW PARK THAT WAS FORMED BY LORD CAPEL JOHN OF TEWKESBURY. THE SITE CONSITS OF 300 ACRES OF BOTANICAL GLASS HOUSES AND GARDENS, A LIBRARY WITH OVER 750,000 VOLUMES AND MORE THAN 175,000 PRINTS, FOUR GRADE I AND 36 GRADE 2 BUILDINGS SET WITHIN AS INTERNATIONALLY IMPORTANT LANDSCAPE, WHICH IS A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE.
THE GREAT PAGODA STANDS IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF KEW GARDENS, AND WAS BUILT IN 1762 IN MITATION OF A CHINESE PAGODA. IT IS 164 FEET HIGH, 49 FEET IN DIAMETER AT ITS BASE AND HAS TEN OCTOGONAL STORIES. DURING WWI HOLES WERE CUT INTO EACH OF ITS FLOORS TO DROP TEST MODEL BOMBS.
KEW IS ONE OF LONDON'S MOST POPULAR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS, AND IS ALSO THE HOME OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW, WHICH IS A BOTANICAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION; KEW PALACE, THE SMALLEST OF THE ROYAL PALACES; AND THE PALM HOUSE, THE WORLD'S MOST IMPORTANT SURVIVING VICTORIAN GLASS AND IRON STRUCTURE.
THE OCTOGONAL SHAPE OF THIS COIN MIMICS THE EIGHT SIDES OF THE GRAND PAGODA.
0.9138 OZ AGW
27 MM IN DIAMETER
ONLY 40 COINS MINTED!
