id:			144540
accession number:	1969.214
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.214
updated:		2022-01-04 16:40:48.794000

Two Pound Piece: George IV (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse), 1823. After Benedetto Pistrucci (Italian, 1784-1855), after a design by Francis Legatt Chantrey (British, 1781-1841), Jean Baptiste Merlen (French, 1769–1850). Gold; diameter: 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection 1969.214

title:				Two Pound Piece: George IV (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1823
creation date earliest:		1823
creation date latest:		1823
current location:		
creditline:			The Norweb Collection
copyright:			

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culture:	England, George IV, 1820-1830
technique:	gold
department:	Medieval Art
collection:	MED - Numismatics
type:		Coins
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Benedetto Pistrucci (Italian, 1784-1855)  - designer

* Francis Legatt Chantrey (British, 1781-1841)  - artist

* Jean Baptiste Merlen (French, 1769–1850)  - fabricated by

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measurements: Diameter: 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	BRITANNIAR: REX  F: D: GEORGIUS IIII D: G:
	translation:	
	remark:		

	inscription:	1895
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Year in Review: 1969
	opening date:   1970-01-27T05:00:00
	<i>Year in Review: 1969</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* <em>English Gold Coins: Ancient to Modern Times</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1963).

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PROVENANCE

	Mrs. Emery May Holden Norweb (1895-1984), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: -1969
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1969-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
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.

digital description: 


wall 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.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Cleveland Museum of Art, and Emery May Norweb<em>. English Gold Coins, Ancient to Modern Times, On Loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Norweb Collection.</em> [Catalog. 1968.]
	page number: 	p. 71
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.214/1969.214_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.214/1969.214_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.214/1969.214_full.tif