Effigy of Queen Elizabeth II right (portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley) in the center, inscription along the rim, the year of minting.

DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSOR (By the Grace God Queen Defender of the Faith) in Latin.

250th anniversary of the publication of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language.

 Numeral denomination, text from English dictionary by S. Johnson.

Samuel Johnson LL.D. (1709 – 1784), often referred to simply as Dr Johnson, was one of England's greatest literary figures: a poet, essayist, biographer, lexicographer.