Jersey 5 pence 1984 - Seymour Tower

The coin's story

In 1983, Jersey renewed its coins with a series whose reverses show monuments of the island. On the 5 pence coin, Robert Lowe engraved the Seymour Tower, built at the end of the 18th century on a rocky islet about two kilometres off La Rocque, on the south-east coast. Unlike the round towers of the same period, it is square. It can only be reached on foot at low tide, across a vast stretch of rocks and sand. The obverse bears Arnold Machin's portrait of Elizabeth II, with the date below. In 1984, the Royal Mint struck 300,000 pieces. This 23.6 mm module was demonetised on 31 December 1990, after the introduction of a smaller 5 pence coin.