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: --- culture: England, George IV, 1820-1830 technique: gold department: Medieval Art collection: MED - Numismatics type: Coins find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Benedetto Pistrucci (Italian, 1784-1855) - designer * Francis Legatt Chantrey (British, 1781-1841) - artist * Jean Baptiste Merlen (French, 1769–1850) - fabricated by --- 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: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Year in Review: 1969 opening date: 1970-01-27T05:00:00 Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * English Gold Coins: Ancient to Modern Times. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1963). --- 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: --- 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. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Cleveland Museum of Art, and Emery May Norweb. English Gold Coins, Ancient to Modern Times, On Loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Norweb Collection. [Catalog. 1968.] page number: p. 71 url: --- 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