Owner Comments:
SERIES: ANGEL
FACE VALUE: 1 ANGEL
METAL: Ag .999
WEIGHT IN FINENESS (g): 31.103
DIAMETER (mm): 38.60
STRIKE: PROOF
EDGE: REEDED
MINTAGE: 5000
YEAR OF ISSUE: 2017
GUILDING: N/A
DESINERS: Jody Clark (obverse), Raphael Maklouf (reverse)
ENGRAVER: N/A
KM#: N/A
OBVERSE: Right-facing profile of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, year of issue and backing government. This is first year for the 5th portrait of Elizabeth II to be used on this coin. The portrait is by Jody Clark, whose initials are displayed above the right shoulder of the portrait. The Jody Clark effigy replaces the Ian Rank Broadley design that was previously used between 1998 and 2016. The IRB effigy replaced the Raphael Maklouf Portrait which was in use from 1985 to 1997. The Isle of Man triskelion is not present on the obverse. This marks the second coin in the series to not display the triskelion on the obverse, the first being the 1995 coin.
REVERSE: Archangel Michael slaying the dragon. The small coat of arms of The Isle of Man is located directly above the halo with a Viking knit motif embellishment emerging from behind it and continuing around the entire circumference of the coin. The metal, fineness, weight, and denomination of the coin are displayed at the bottom, below the dragon. This is a tweaked version of the previous 1995 Raphael Maklouf design, who also designed the 3rd portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. This design also reverses the position of the Archangel Michael moving the dragon's head to the left side of the coin and placing the spear in Michael's left hand and the shield in his right. The dragon's head was positioned so as to be looking towards the angel, the dragon's right front claw grabbing the shaft of the spear. Also changed was the chemical symbol for silver, which was changed from the typical "Ag" to "ag". This is the only year in the series in which the chemical symbol for silver is displayed using a lower case "a".
NOTES: This is the first year the Isle of Man Angel coinage was not minted by the Pobjoy Mint ending a 40yr partnership. The 2017 coins were struck by Tower Mint in London, which was founded by Raphael Maklouf. The 1 oz Silver Angel will continue to be minted at Tower Mint until at least 2027, which is when the current 10yr contract between the Isle of Man and Tower Mint ends. The "PM" (Pobjoy Mint) that had been previously located below the dragon’s tail, behind the wing, was removed for obvious reasons. This is the second year in which a reverse proof was offered, the first being in 2016. In 2016 and 2017 the reverse proof was the main mintage and the standard proof was limited to 500 and released in an exclusive mint set. In 2018 the roles were reversed as the Proof was the main mintage and the Reverse Proof was limited to 500 coins.