Isle of Man 5 pence 1979 - Laxey Wheel

The coin's story

In 1976 the Isle of Man adopted a new series of coins in which each reverse shows the map of the island with a local subject, engraved by Barry Stanton. The 5 pence coin shows the Laxey Wheel, nicknamed Lady Isabella in honour of the wife of the Lieutenant Governor Charles Hope. Designed by the engineer Robert Casement and put into service in 1854, this 22.1 m diameter waterwheel pumped water from the workings of the Great Laxey mines, down to 450 m underground. Water power was chosen because the island had no coal for a steam engine. The mines closed in 1929, but the wheel was saved: the Manx government bought it in 1965 and restored it, and in 1989 it passed to Manx National Heritage. It is today the largest original working waterwheel in the world. The coin was struck by the Pobjoy Mint from 1976 to 1979, in 1979 it received die letters and a small triskelion-shaped mark, before the arrival of the 1980 series with the Loaghtan sheep.