Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
A Dramatic Scene from The Empty House
100th Anniversary of the Return of Sherlock Homes
Issued - Gibraltar
Year - 1994
Metal - SIlver
Fineness - 925/1000
Diameter - 38.60mm
Denomination - 1 Crown
Weight - 28.28g
Shape - Round
Sherlock Holmes, the remarkable detective based in Victorian London, has to be one of the best-known and most enduring fictional characters of all time. He was first introduced to the public in 1887, in serialised stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Another fictional character, Dr Watson, who was Holmes’ Loyal companion and biographer, narrated the stories.
Conan Doyle managed to inspire such feeling for Holmes in his readers that the characters ‘death’ in 1894 caused a public outcry. Therefore, the author felt obliged to ‘resurrect’ Holmes soon afterwards in a story whose Centenary this set of coins was issued to commemorate.
The Empty House - the death of Holmes led to outrage amoung fans - so much so that Conan Doyle eventually relented, writing 'The Empty House', in which Sherlock Holmes returned. True to his form, the great detective made his reappearance in a spectacular and theatrical style, much to the surprise of his erstwhile companion, Dr Watson.
