Plate

In 2001, the Australia–Britain Society marked the opening of Magna Carta Place in Canberra by commissioning artist Peter Crisp to create commemorative glass plates. Using ‘blue pâte de verre’, a French kiln-formed glass technique, and fusing 22 carat gold and platinum with the glass, Crisp created 30 plates for the Society to give to dignitaries from around the world. The central image is based on the seal of King John.

You can learn more about the Magna Carta Place monument.

Peter Crisp (born 1959), Magna Carta Place Commemorative Plate, 2001, Glass with platinum and gold-fused enamel, gift of the Australia–Britain Society, Official Gifts Collection, Parliament House Art Collections.

Coin

To commemorate the 800th anniversary of the 1215 Magna Carta, the Royal Australian Mint produced a special issue coin. For the first time in the Mint’s history, the coin was rectangular, in the shape of the Magna Carta parchment. It featured an inscription in Latin from the 1297 inspeximus issue, translated as: ‘We furthermore grant and give to all the free men of our realm for ourselves and our heirs in perpetuity the liberties written below to have and to hold to them and their heirs from us and our heirs in perpetuity’.

The Australian Parliament launched its celebrations of this 800th anniversary with the release of this limited edition coin in June 2015.

Royal Australian Mint (manufacturer), Aaron Baggio (born 1973) (designer), 2015 $5 fine silver antique rectangular coin – 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, 2015, Silver, Parliament House Art Collections.