If you happen to own a 1999 Princess Diana £5 coin then you are very fortunate, and in this article, we’ll break down the value of the coin as well as the different versions that were produced alongside their mintage figures.
The regular cupro-nickel Princess Diana £5 coin is worth between £6 and £7 according to the latest values on eBay in 2022, but this varies greatly depending on the grade of the coin.
Other versions can be worth thousands of pounds, however, so let’s waste no time and get into it!
Is The 1999 Princess Diana £5 Coin Rare?
Although the Princess Diana £5 coin is highly sought after, the cupro-nickel standard edition of the coin had a relatively large mintage of 2,698,150. This is quite a large amount when you consider that the coin never entered circulation and was instead issued for collectors.
This is reflected in the average sale price on eBay, but there are other versions of this coin produced by the Royal Mint that are much more valuable.
Other Versions
Like most commemorative coins, the Princess Diana £5 was issued in different proof versions ranging in value, and these are summarised in the table below.
| Version | Mintage | Estimated Value |
| Proof | 80,144 | £20 to £40 |
| Silver Proof | 49,545 | £200 – £400 |
| Gold Proof | 2,750 | Around £4,000 |
Please note that these prices are estimates, and that realised auction prices can vary greatly.
The gold version brought a lot of interest at an auction in 2021, for example, and sold for £6,200 including the buyer’s fee.
£5 Coin Brief History
Five pound coins are rarely seen in circulation. They have been minted since 1990 solely as commemorative coins that do have a legal tender but are intended to be collected more as a souvenir.
Because of the special commemorative design, the five pound coin, in general, does not have a standard reverse design. The reverse design varies each year as a new event is commemorated.
The British five pound coin is a continuation of the crown which became the commemorative twenty five pence coin after the coins became decimalized.
The twenty five pence coin was discontinued in 1981. The five pound coin shares the same dimensions as the twenty five pence coin as well as the five shilling coin before it but has a different value.
If you want to learn more about the £5 coin you can read our article here.
Design Of The Princess Diana £5 Coin
The obverse of the coin features a crowned mature head of Queen Elizabeth II facing to the right. This effigy is known as the Fourth Portrait.
She is wearing the “Girls of Great Britain and Ireland” diamond tiara which was a wedding gift in 1947 from her grandmother, Queen Mary. Her profile portrait is surrounded by the legend ELIZABETH * II * D * G REG * F * D * 1999. Translated from Latin, this means Elizabeth the Second, by the grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith 1999. The initials IRB are seen just below her neckline and stand for the artist Ian Rank-Broadley.
The Reverse of this special commemorative five pound coin features A profile of Princess Diana facing toward the right wearing the Wales Memorial Crown.
The dates of her birth in 1961 and her death in 1997 are pictured to the bottom right of her profile just below her chin. Surrounding her image are the words IN MEMORY OF DIANA PRINCESS OF WALES and the coin’s denomination FIVE POUNDS curved upward and centred at the bottom.
The edge is a reeded or milled edge with no inscription, and this reverse image was designed by engraver David Cornell; who has designed several other coins such as the NHS 50p.
The regular version of the coin is made of cupro-nickel with a milled edge that may or may not contain an inscription. It is 38.61 mm in diameter, 2.89 mm thick, and weighs 28.28 grams.
What Does The Coin Represent?
The Princess Diana £5 coin was minted only after a public outcry demanded it. It was the first official memorial organized by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Committee.
The group had formed after her death and asked for suggestions on how to best remember the princess. They received more than 10,000 responses. Proceeds from sales of the coin were to go toward funding other memorials for the princess.
This special coin was the sixth five pound coin that was released. The coin was one of two five pound coins that were designed for 1999. The other was the Millennium Crown with an image of a dial of a clock with hands set at 12:00 with a map of the British Isles and the dates 1999 and 2000 along with the words ANNO DOMINI to mark the change of a millennium.
The special commemorative Princess Diana coin was issued two years after her death and is a memorial coin that commemorates her legacy.
Diana Frances Spencer married the Prince of Wales in July 1981. She gave birth to an heir and an heir to spare, William and Harry.
She and the prince later divorced, but she remained a focal point for many who had felt a connection with her as the People’s Princess. She was also much the subject of paparazzi who feasted on her every move in hunt for a photograph and story to tell.
Amidst one such media frenzy, she died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997. She and her friend Dodi Al Fayed were attempting to escape the paparazzi at the time of the crash. Her death brought grief to the entire world.
Other Coins Featuring Princess Diana
Not many coins have been minted that feature Princess Diana. There was the 1981 two pound issued in Jersey that featured the Royal Wedding. There was also a 1981 Charles and Diana coin that featured Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
Other memorial coins that featured Princess Diana included a Princess Diana Memorial Liberian 5 dollars coin of 1997 and the Princess Diana Memorial Niue 1 dollar 1997 coin. There have also been special collectable Proof coins and sets made available in honour of the People’s Princess.