The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (French: Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II[1]) is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953.
This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family and selected officers of state, members of the Royal Household, government officials, mayors, public servants, local government officials, members of the navy, army, air force and police in Britain, her colonies and Dominions. It was also awarded to members of the Mount Everest expedition, two of whom reached the summit four days before the coronation.[2] It was struck at the Royal Mint and issued immediately after the coronation.[3]
For Coronation and Jubilee medals, the practice up until 1977 was that the authorities in the United Kingdom decided on a total number to be produced, then allocated a proportion to each of the Commonwealth countries and Crown dependencies and other possessions of the Crown. The award of the medals was then at the discretion of the government of each territory, which was left free to decide who was to be awarded a medal and why.[4]
A total of 129,051 medals were awarded,[5] including:
Medal with rim impressed: Mount Everest Expedition
The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal is a silver disk, 1.25 inches in diameter. The obverse features a crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, facing right, in a high-collared ermine cloak and wearing a Tudor Crown along with the collar of the Garter and Badge of the Bath. There is no raised rim and no legend.
The reverse shows the Royal CypherEIIR surmounted by a large crown. The legend around the edge reads "QUEEN ELIZABETH II CROWNED 2nd JUNE 1953". The medal was designed by Cecil Thomas.[7]
The dark red ribbon is 1.25 inches (32 mm) wide, with 5⁄64 inch (2 mm) wide white edges and two narrow dark blue stripes in the centre, each 5⁄64 inch (2 mm) wide and 1⁄16 inch (1.6 mm) apart.
Ladies who were awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal can wear it on their left shoulder with the ribbon tied in the form of a bow.[3]
The medals were issued unnamed, except for the 37 issued to the British Mount Everest Expedition. These were engraved "MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION" on the rim.[2]
The following list includes notable New Zealanders who received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal,[14][15] and is not an exhaustive list of recipients.
^Howard N Cole. Coronation and Royal Commemorative Medals. p. 49. Published J. B. Hayward & Son, London, 1977. Cole states 129,051 medals were struck, citing 84th Annual report of the Deputy Master and Comptroller of the Royal Mint, 1953 (HMSO 1955).
^Williams, Meta (1992). Mrs Lilian Gresham, State Commissioner, 1945-1954: The Post-War Reconstruction Era. Brisbane, Australia: Girl Guides Australia (Queensland). p. 43. ISBN0646102702.
