CHURCHILL MONEY GALLERY DISPLAY

SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL AT 150

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE J. ERIC ENGSTROM CHURCHILL MEDAL COLLECTION

FREE DISPLAY

15 Nov 2024 – 30 Nov 2025

Money Gallery

Admission is FREE

To coincide with the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Winston Churchill this autumn, we are displaying coins and medals from our collection in a showcase in the Money Gallery. These will include a rare proof of a commemorative £2 coin by the Royal Mint, specially produced for the anniversary.

The Heberden Coin Room at the Ashmolean has a world-class collection of medals relating to Churchill, mostly thanks to a gift from J. Eric Engstrom of his Churchill Medal Collection in 2020. The display reveals how Churchill has become a key figure in the medallic art of the 20th century.

The display will explore the range of media in which Churchill finds himself remembered. Alongside the coins and medals are several other objects, including a pamphlet of John Maynard Keynes – on show for the first time – and a striking commemorative mug.

Header image: Churchill Crown, HCR98876, J. Eric Engstrom Churchill Medal Collection, Estate of Nemon © Ashmolean Museum

Churchill Crown

The Churchill Crown shows a sombre Winston Churchill in an air-raid ‘siren suit’. It was the first of its kind to commemorate a non-royal person. Designed by Oscar Nemon, 1965, cupro-nickel. Struck by the Royal Mint. J. Engstrom Churchill Medal Collection. Estate of Nemon / © Ashmolean Museum

Battle of Britain commemorative medal

Said to be made from debris which fell from the House of Commons during a 1941 air-raid, this medal is a piece of stone cut into the shape of Churchill's iconic ‘V for Victory’ hand gesture. 1942. J. Eric Engstrom Churchill Medal Collection © Ashmolean Museum

Churchill memorial medal

The books and paintbrushes depicted behind Churchill's head and shoulders on this memorial medal (1965) praise his artistic skills in literature and painting. Churchill won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1953. J. Eric Engstrom Churchill Medal Collection © Ashmolean Museum

Churchill mug

Churchill in his famed 'V for Victory' pose adorns this glazed earthenware mug made by E. T. Bailey in about 1965. The caricature has all his familiar hallmarks – polka-dot bowtie, pinstripe trousers and cigar © Ashmolean Museum

The Economic Consequences of Mr Churchill

In 1925, Churchill brought Britain back onto the gold standard, tying the pound to the pre-war exchange rate with the US dollar. This pamphlet has a biting criticism by economist John Maynard Keynes, published by Leonard and Virginia Woolf. Bodleian Libraries, Oxford. Public domain via HathiTrust

Satirical bronze medal of Lord Balfour and the 'Lusitania'

Here a German medal (1916) pokes fun at a young Churchill who is surrounded by angry political figures. It responds to the sinking of a luxury passenger liner, when Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty. J. Eric Engstrom Churchill Medal Collection © Ashmolean Museum