2668) Edward Jenner (17.05.1749-26.01.1823), United Kingdom: 200th Anniversary of his passing away (1823-2023): Physician and Scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines and the Small-pox vaccine: A commemorative £2 coin issued to highlight his contribution to medicine: Date/Year of Coin issue: 01/2023:
The Header/Banner shows the Obverse and Reverse of the Silver Coin Variant and the Reverse of the Gold Coin Variant against a background photograph of Edward Jenner sitting in his laboratory with his Research papers.
Edward Jenner (17,05.1749 – 26.01.1823):
He was an English physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines, and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine.
The terms vaccine and vaccination are derived from "Variolae vaccinae" ('pustules of the cow'), which was a term devised by Jenner to denote cowpox.
He used it in 1798 in the title of his "Inquiry into the Variolae vaccinae" (known as the "Cow Pox"), in which he described the protective effect of cowpox against smallpox.
Jenner is often called "the Father of Immunology", and his work is said to have saved "more lives than any other man".
In Jenner's time, smallpox killed around 10% of global population, with the number as high as 20% in towns and cities where infection spread more easily.
In 1821, he was appointed physician to King George IV, and was also made mayor of Berkeley and justice of the peace. He was also a member of the Royal Society.
In the field of Zoology, he was among the first modern scientists to describe the brood parasitism of the cuckoo (Aristotle had earlier noted this behaviour in his "History of Animals").
In 2002, Jenner was named in the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest Britons.
Discovery of the vaccine:
Jenner's discovery of the link between cowpox pus and smallpox in humans helped him to create the smallpox vaccine.
Inoculation was already pioneered in Asian and African medicine and was a standard practice but involved serious risks, one of which was the fear that those inoculated would then transfer the disease to those around them due to their becoming carriers of the disease.
In 1721, Mary Wortley Montagu had imported variolation to Britain after having observed it in Istanbul.
Voltaire wrote that at this time 60% of the population caught smallpox and 20% of the population died from it.
Voltaire also stated that the Circassians used the inoculation from times immemorial, and the custom may have been borrowed by the Turks from the Circassians.
In 1766, Daniel Bernoulli analysed smallpox morbidity and mortality data to demonstrate the efficacy of inoculation.
The steps taken by Edward Jenner to create vaccination, the first vaccine for smallpox:
Jenner inoculated James Phipps with cowpox, a virus similar to smallpox, to create immunity, unlike variolation, which used smallpox to create an immunity to itself.
By 1768, English physician John Fewster had realised that prior infection with cowpox rendered a person immune to smallpox.
In the years following 1770, at least five investigators in England and Germany (Sevel, Jensen, Jesty 1774, Rendell, Plett 1791) successfully tested in humans a cowpox vaccine against smallpox.
Dorset farmer Benjamin Jesty successfully vaccinated and presumably induced immunity with cowpox in his wife and two children during a smallpox epidemic in 1774, but it was not until Jenner's work that the procedure became widely understood.
Jenner was already aware of Jesty's procedures and success. A similar observation was later made in France by Jacques Antoine Rabaut-Pommier in 1780.
Noting the common observation that milkmaids were generally immune to smallpox, Jenner postulated that the pus in the blisters that milkmaids received from cowpox (a disease similar to smallpox, but much less virulent) protected them from smallpox.
Jenner's Hypothesis:
The initial source of infection was a disease of horses, called "the grease", which was transferred to cattle by farm workers, transformed, and then manifested as cowpox.
On 14.05.1796, Jenner tested his hypothesis by inoculating James Phipps, an eight-year-old boy who was the son of Jenner's gardener.
Jenner continued his research and reported it to the Royal Society, which did not publish the initial paper.
After revisions and further investigations, he published his findings on the 23 cases, including his 11-month-old son Robert.
Some of his conclusions were correct, some erroneous; modern microbiological and microscopic methods would make his studies easier to reproduce. The medical establishment deliberated at length over his findings before accepting them.
Eventually, vaccination was accepted, and in 1840, the British government banned variolation – the use of smallpox to induce immunity – and provided vaccination using cowpox free of charge.
The success of his discovery soon spread around Europe and was used en masse in the Spanish Balmis Expedition (1803–1806), a three-year-long mission to the Americas, the Philippines, Macao, China, led by Francisco Javier de Balmis with the aim of giving thousands the smallpox vaccine. The expedition was successful.
Jenner is remembered for one of the most significant medical accomplishments with the development of the world’s first vaccine in 1796.
Through his pioneering work, which brought smallpox under control, viruses and similar ailments could be managed through inoculation, which was further expanded to include other virulent maladies.
The Commemorative Coin:
The Royal Mint has released a commemorative £2 coin which highlighting Edward Jenner's contribution on the 200th Anniversary of his passing away.
The Reverse of the Commemorative Coins depicts the core of a smallpox cell surrounded by standing human figures, representing the millions of lives saved through vaccination and virus eradication.
On the upper periphery is the text "EDWARD JENNER" and on the lower periphery is inscribed - "A VACCINE TO END SMALLPOX".
The Obverse of the Commemorative Coins depicts a left facing effigy of King Charles III, (designed by Martin Jennings).
The inscription on the outer periphery reads - "CHARLES III. D.G. REX. F.D. 2 POUNDS. 2023" (meaning "Charles III, By the Grace of God, King, Defender of the Faith")
The incused edge inscription reads "• INNOVATION IN SCIENCE • JENNER."
The Coin has been issued in several Variants:
i) A Bi-metallic Coin Variant:
Country: United Kingdom (UK); Year of Coin issue: 2023; Coin Theme: "200th Year of the passing away of Edward Jenner - Pioneer in Small-pox vaccine (1823-2023)"; Metal Composition: Bi-metallic (Base Metal); Denomination: £2 (Two Pounds); Weight: 12.00 grams; Diameter/Size: 28.40 mm; Mint: Royal Mint, UK; Mintage: Unlimited; Coin Quality: Brilliant Uncirculated (BU); Designer: Henry Gray (Reverse), Martin Jennings (Obverse).
ii) A Silver Coin Variant:
Country: United Kingdom (UK); Year of Coin issue: 2023; Coin Theme: "200th Year of the passing away of Edward Jenner - Pioneer in Small-pox vaccine (1823-2023)"; Denomination: £2 (Two Pounds); Metal Composition: .925 Fineness Sterling Silver (Ag); Weight: 12.00 grams; Diameter/Size: 28.40 mm; Mint: Royal Mint, UK; Mintage: 2,510 pieces; Coin Quality: Proof with plating (PP); Designer: Henry Gray (Reverse), Martin Jennings (Obverse).
iii) A Silver Coin Variant:
Country: United Kingdom (UK); Year of Coin issue: 2023; Coin Theme: "200th Year of the passing away of Edward Jenner - Pioneer in Small-pox vaccine (1823-2023)"; Denomination: £2 (Two Pounds); Metal Composition: .925 Fineness Pedfort Silver (Ag); Weight: 24.00 grams; Diameter/Size: 28.40 mm; Mint: Royal Mint, UK; Mintage: 1,260 pieces; Coin Quality: Proof with plating (PP); Designer: Henry Gray (Reverse), Martin Jennings (Obverse).
iv) A Gold Coin Variant:
Country: United Kingdom (UK); Year of Coin issue: 2023; Coin Theme: "200th Year of the passing away of Edward Jenner - Pioneer in Small-pox vaccine (1823-2023)"; Denomination: £2 (Two Pounds); Metal Composition: .9167 Fineness Gold (Au); Weight: 15.48 grams; Diameter/Size: 28.40 mm; Mint: Royal Mint, UK; Mintage: 160 pieces; Coin Quality: Proof (P); Designer: Henry Gray (Reverse), Martin Jennings (Obverse).
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Santosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very informative post Thanks for sharing."
Thank you so much, Khanna sahab.
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