This superb coin illustrates the USS Missouri and a cameo of General Douglas Mac Arthur is shown above the ship with a dove to symbolize the peace that was achieved on VJ – Day, 60 years ago. The wording ‘60th Anniversary of VJ - Day 1945’ is in the surround and the value is shown at the base. Approved by Buckingham Palace the obverse of each coin carries a fine effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS FSNAD. The coins are available in Unc. Cupro Nickel.
On the morning of August the 10th, 1945, news swept through the Allied Nations of Japan's acceptance of the Allies’ surrender terms, which prompted impromptu celebrations throughout the Allied countries. This news however was slightly premature and a few tense days followed until the surrender was confirmed on the 14th August 1945. (V-J Day was actually declared on the 15th August 1945.)
The USS Missouri entered Tokyo Bay early on the 29th of August 1945 to prepare for the surrender ceremony. High-ranking military officials of all the Allied Powers were received on board on the 2nd September. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (Supreme Commander for the Allies) boarded followed by the Japanese representatives, headed by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu. At 0902 General MacArthur stepped before a battery of microphones and the 23 minute surrender ceremony was broadcast to the waiting World. By 0930 the Japanese emissaries had departed and World War II was declared officially over.
