Isle of Man 5 pence 1988 - Windsurfing

The coin's story

In 1988 the Isle of Man adopted a new series of coins with the portrait of Elizabeth II designed by Raphael David Maklouf, in use in the United Kingdom since 1985. The reverse of the 5 pence coin shows a windsurfer and bears the name of the island in Manx, ellan vannin, instead of English. The coin keeps the historic large size of 23.59 mm, that of the old shilling, which the 5 pence had taken over at decimalisation in 1971. This format lasted only three years: the United Kingdom introduced a smaller 5 pence on 27 June 1990 and withdrew the old one on 31 December 1990. The Isle of Man followed suit: its large 5 pence with the windsurfer was demonetised on 1 January 1991 and replaced by an 18 mm version with the same design. The coins were struck by the Pobjoy Mint, whose PM mark appears below the portrait.