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Five Pound Piece: Victoria (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse)
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Five Pound Piece: Victoria (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse)

Benedetto Pistrucci (Italian, 1784–1855), designer; Joseph Boehm (British, 1834–1890), designed by · 1887 · gold

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

The obverse design of this piece is usually known as the "Jubilee head," since 1887, the year of its production, was the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. By Sir Joseph Boehm, R.A., sculptor in ordinary to the queen, it caused a minor storm since it was said the tiny crown made the queen look ridiculous. The queen is said not to have liked the design herself, but she did in fact wear a small crown of this type when she began to find the full-size crown too heavy. The crown may be seen among the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.

Cleveland Museum of Art’s own description
Credit lineFive Pound Piece: Victoria (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse), 1887. Design by after Benedetto Pistrucci (Italian, 1784–1855), design by Joseph Boehm (British, 1834–1890). Gold; diameter: 3.7 cm (1 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection, 1969.219

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