Two Pound Piece: George IV (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse)
Medium
gold
Dimensions
diam. 4.5 cm
Classification
Coins
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Norweb Collection
Accession Number
1969.214
Tags
male
About this artwork
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. Mer...