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The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal is a commemorative medal that was instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and was established on June 2, 1953.
Award
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 138,214 medals were awarded, including:
- 11,561 to Australians.
- 12,500 to Canadians.
Description
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 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 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, as depicted.
The medals were issued without inscription except for the 37 issued to the British Mount Everest Expedition. These were engraved "MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION" on the rim.
The medal was designed by Cecil Thomas.