Portraits of a Queen - Elizabeth II The Third Effigy 2026 UK £5 Brilliant Uncirculated Coin

Coin Summary & Key Facts

The Portraits of a Queen – Elizabeth II The Third Effigy 2026 UK £5 Brilliant Uncirculated Coin is the third release in a five-coin series celebrating each of Her Late Majesty’s definitive coinage portraits. This issue revisits the Raphael Maklouf effigy, remastered by The Royal Mint’s Chief Engraver Gordon Summers, and pairs it with the new coinage portrait of King Charles III on the obverse.

Core specifications and product details for the 2026 Third Effigy £5 Brilliant Uncirculated coin.

The Third Effigy coin is the “big hair and diadem” era of Elizabeth II in shiny BU form – a tribute to the Maklouf portrait that many people still instinctively picture when they think of pre-decimal-feel, late-20th-century UK coins.

• Theme & concept: The Portraits of a Queen series walks through each of the five definitive coin portraits of Elizabeth II. The Third Effigy honours Raphael Maklouf’s 1985 portrait, which was intended to show the Queen as an ageless, regal symbol rather than a literal photographic likeness.
• Design details: The reverse shows a remastered version of Maklouf’s crowned effigy:
  • Elizabeth II wearing the royal diadem and jewellery,
  • refined radial and background treatments (as on the First/Second Effigy coins) to catch the light,
  • the inscription PORTRAIT OF A QUEEN 1985–1997 anchoring it to the era of use.
• Series structure: This coin sits in the middle of a five-coin arc:
  • First Effigy – Mary Gillick, youthful uncrowned portrait (1953–1968),
  • Second Effigy – Arnold Machin, first crowned portrait (1968–1984),
  • Third Effigy – Raphael Maklouf (this coin, 1985–1997),
  • Fourth Effigy – Ian Rank-Broadley (1998–2015),
  • Fifth Effigy – Jody Clark (2015–2022).
• Dual-monarch obverse: Like the other coins in the range, the obverse uses the King Charles III portrait by Martin Jennings, creating a deliberate contrast: Charles on one side, a different Elizabeth II effigy on each reverse.
• Packaging & presentation: BU coins in this series are supplied in bespoke Royal Mint packaging that explores the history and design of the relevant effigy (Maklouf for the Third). Expect background text, imagery and timeline details similar to those seen on the First and Second Effigy BU packs.
• Collecting angle: The big play here is completeness and matching quality:
  • build the full five-coin BU run, ideally all in original packs,
  • look for packs with no creasing, fading or splits,
  • check the coin for clean, even BU lustre and no obvious contact marks on the Queen’s face or hair.
• Market expectations: As with the earlier effigies, this is a cupro-nickel BU coin with unlimited mintage but strong thematic appeal (Elizabeth II + Charles III + Maklouf nostalgia). Secondary-market prices typically hover around or modestly above the original Royal Mint BU issue price, with premiums mainly driven by complete series sets and pristine packaging.

Taken on its own, the Portraits of a Queen – Elizabeth II The Third Effigy 2026 UK £5 BU Coin is a classy Maklouf throwback; as part of the five-coin set, it’s the central chapter in a neatly structured visual biography of Elizabeth II’s reign in coin portraits.