The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
Two Pound Piece: George IV (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse)
1823
designer
after Benedetto Pistrucci
(Italian, 1784–1855)
after a design by Francis Legatt Chantrey
(British, 1781–1841)
fabricated by
(French, 1769–1850)
Diameter: 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.)
The Norweb Collection 1969.214
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
This is the only modern British coin on which the initials of the Master of the Mint, William Wellesley Pole, appear, on the reverse below the broken lance.Description
During the reign of King George IV, two-pound pieces were struck for circulation in 1823 only. Pattern pieces appeared in 1824, 1825, and 1826. The king was so disgusted with the caricature of a portrait that Pistrucci placed on the first coins of the reign that the artist was ordered to model a new obverse from a bust by the sculptor Sir Francis Chantrey (1781–1841). Pistrucci refused; it was beneath his dignity to copy the work of another artist. The work was therefore carried out by J. B. Merlen, assistant engraver at the Royal Mint.- -1969Mrs. Emery May Holden Norweb (1895-1984), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art1969-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Cleveland Museum of Art, and Emery May Norweb. English Gold Coins, Ancient to Modern Times, On Loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Norweb Collection. [Catalog. 1968.] p. 71
- Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).English Gold Coins: Ancient to Modern Times. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1963).
- {{cite web|title=Two Pound Piece: George IV (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse)|url=false|author=Benedetto Pistrucci, Francis Legatt Chantrey, Jean Baptiste Merlen|year=1823|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1969.214