Unless specified otherwise, most items from Tilly Online contain this coin (only the date will vary). It was first minted over 60 years ago in 1953, the year after the late Queen’s accession to the throne. It was produced annually until 1967 and remained in use until 1980.

Because of the stylised floral design on the reverse, the sixpences of Elizabeth II are particularly suitable for wedding gifts and favours. Note the rose, thistle, shamrock and leek – national symbols for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Unlike postage stamps, where the sovereign’s head faces to the left, there is a tradition with British coinage that each new sovereign’s head should face the opposite direction of their predecessor; hence all British coins since 1953 have the Queen’s head facing to the right. The effigy, designed by Mary Gillick, is still used today, in cameo, on special issue postage stamps.

The inscription on the obverse (front) is in Latin and reads “Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, Queen.” Coins minted in 1953 also had “BRITT. OMN.” or “Queen of all the Britons” but was omitted thereafter in recogniton of the loss of Empire and the development of the Commonwealth. Because of the coin’s small size, another of the Queen’s titles is added to the reverse: “FID. DEF”, a Latin abbreviation of “Defender of the Faith.”

The coin is slightly larger than the present-day five-pence coin, being 19.4mm in diameter and a weight of 2.83 grams (a fraction larger than the US and Canadian 1¢ coins). It is made from an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel.