The Sovereign 1965

Winston Churchill lived to the age of 90 and when he passed away in 1965, the respect that was paid to the great man was unprecedented.

He received a four-day state funeral, the last non-Royal to receive this honour to date and within a week, more than 100,000 people had visited his grave.

Amazingly in 1965, Churchill became the only Prime Minister to enter the music charts, with ‘The Voice Of‘ – a collection of his most famous speeches, entering the music chart shortly after his death.

The Royal Mint also paid tribute to the man that would later be crowned ‘The Greatest Briton’. It’s rare for a statesman to be commemorated on a coin, but that honour went to Churchill upon his death in 1965, when we issued the first circulated coin to celebrate an individual, The Churchill Crown – a fitting honour to a former Master the Mint.

The Royal Mint also issue a Gold Sovereign that year, bearing the Young Head portrait of Her Late Majesty and this issue has become sought after by collectors of coins and Churchill commemoratives around the world.