The D-Day 60th Anniversary

To commemorate this event, each of the three main Channel Islands has authorised the Royal Mint to produce a limited number of collector coins in gold and silver. D-Day
The invasion of northern France from England took place in 1944 on a day now famously known as D-Day. The original date for D-Day was 5 June 1944 but it had to be delayed by twenty-four hours due to bad weather. The airbourne landings began in the early hours of the morning of 6 June 1944, followed by the combined troops of the Allied armies of Britain, United States and Canada. By nightfall many of the beachheads had been secured on the five landing areas and victory finally seemed achievable.

MS Belfast
The HMS Belfast played a significant part in the D-Day battle and to commemorate these throughout the Second World War she was saved for the nation. She now resides opposite the Tower of London at Morgan's Lane and visitors are able to wander her decks, view such features as the gun turrets and boiler room, and also visit the crew's accommodation to get a feel for what it was like for all who sailed in her.

Airborne Landings
In the darkness of the early hours of the morning of 6 June 1944, the first Allied troops flew in and on the beaches of Normandy. The plan was to arrive before the main landings achieve maximum surprise. The airborne landings were a great success, making a huge impact and paved the way for the rest of the troops arriving in their wake.

Sword Beach
Sword Beach was the code name for the beach, which was the furthest to the left of all those chosen for the Normandy invasion. The plan for Sword Beach was to push across the land securing the beach and to link up with the airborne troops who had landed the night before. At 13.00 hours the linked up with ttroops at the bridges over the OrneWaterways and achieved their most important objective. The special Proof coins for the Channel Islands of Alderney, Jersey and Guernsey are struck in 22carat gold and celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day. The reverse of each gold coins in this Channel Islands set has been designed by Michael Guilfoyle and every coin captures a different aspect of D-Day - land, sea and air. Guernsey's depicts a soldier on Sword Beach. Alderney's displays the HMS Belfast, whilst Jersey's depicts an aircraft of the airborne landings. The designs of the Channel Islands coins also feature a sculpted poppy. lan Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen graces the obverse of the Guernsey and Jersey coins, while Alderney's bears the earlier one by Raphael Maklouf.

Designs

• Alderney
  A mature portrait of Wellington set against the background of Walmer Castle, the place where he died.
• Guernsey
  A young Sir Arthur Wellesley, at the campaign of his campaign in India.
• Jersey
  Wellington and his soldiers at the time of the Peninsular War.

Technical Specifications

Denomination	Diameter	Weight	Fineness	Gold Content
Five Pounds 2004	38.61	39.94	.9166	1.1771
Set of 3		119.82	.9166	3.5313

Prices & Availability

Date	Denomination	Description	Grade	Mintage
2004	3 x Five Pounds	60th Anniversary of the D-Day 60th Anniversary's Death	Proof	500

2004 Channel Islands D-Day 60th Anniversary Gold Coin Set

Postage & Packing
UK Registered Post (Special Delivery) £9 per order
EU Insured Post £10 per order
USA Airmail $10 per order
USA Insured Shipping by Fedex $40 per order

Alderney Silver and Base Metal Coins
For silver and base metal coins of Alderney, please look at our original Chard Coins website.

Red Arrows at Blackpool Airshow August 2009
As a slight diversion, while we are on the subject of planes, and the R.A.F.