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Medal - Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal

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Overview

The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. The medal is a silver disk, 32mm in diameter. The obverse features a crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, facing right, in a high-collared ermine cloak and wearing the collar of the Garter and Badge of the Bath. There is no raised rim and no legend.
The reverse shows the Royal Cypher EIIR 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. The dark red ribbon is 32 mm wide, with a 2 mm wide white edges and two narrow dark blue stripes in the centre, each 2 mm wide and 1.6 mm apart.

Historical information

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. 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. A total of 129,051 medals were awarded including 11,561 to Australians

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-99-354

Inscriptions and markings

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

Contextual Information

Multiple examples of this medal are retained either singly or in groups as an ongoing commemoration of the service of Western Australians. Medals are displayed in context throughout the Museum. All medals are identified, archivally stored and those not on display are accessible and viewable with prior notice. As with all Royal Commemorative medals, an issue was made to living Victoria Cross recipients and are thus found in two of the Victoria Cross medal groups on display.

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

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