1951 FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN CROWN IN ITS ORIGINAL BOX - Stunning condition and worth so much more with it's box. Coins for Collectors and The Great British Coin Hunt.

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As we alluded to earlier, there were a couple of different versions of the 1951 Festival of Britain crown released, each with varying mintage figures and rarities.

The coin's origins lie in the English silver crown, one of many silver coins that appeared in various countries from the 16th century onwards (most famously the Spanish piece of eight), all of similar size and weight (approx 38mm diameter, 25g fine silver) and thus interchangeable in international trade. The Kingdom of England also minted gold Crowns until early in the reign of Charles II. [2]

Crown 1951 : English Coins

The legal tender value of the crown remained as five shillings from 1544 to 1965. However, for most of this period there was no denominational designation or "face value" mark of value displayed on the coin. From 1927 to 1939, the word "CROWN" appears, and from 1951 to 1960 this was changed to "FIVE SHILLINGS". Coins minted since 1818 remain legal tender with a face value of 25 pence. In the 20th century, most crown coins were commemorative, and this era saw the introduction of some of the most popular crown coins that are sought after to this day. 1935 Jubilee Crown

Specifications of British Pre-decimal Coins". Archived from the original on 14 May 2011 . Retrieved 24 March 2011. Values in the table above are expressed in GBP. They are based on evaluations by Numista users and sales realized on Internet platforms. They serve as an indication only; they are not intended to be relied upon for buying, selling or exchanging. Numista does not buy or sell coins or banknotes. As you can tell, the frosted proof and matte versions are incredibly rare and worth thousands of pounds, however, the chances of coming across one of them are slim to none. Decimal" crowns were minted a few times after decimalisation of the British currency in 1971, initially with a nominal value of 25 (new) pence. However, commemorative crowns issued since 1990 have a face value of five pounds. [1] History [ edit ] Always a heavy silver coin weighing around one ounce, during the 19th and 20th centuries the crown declined from being a real means of exchange to being a coin rarely spent, and minted for commemorative purposes only. Unlike in some territories of the British Empire (such as Jamaica), in the UK the crown was never replaced as circulating currency by a five-shilling banknote.Crowns were released into circulation quite regularly up until 1902, but this did not continue in the 20th century and instead, the coin become more of a commemorative, collectable item. Mintage And Different Versions British Gold Proof Commemorative Crowns". taxfreegold.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017 . Retrieved 23 June 2017. Gold investment products are VAT free. Silver investment products are inclusive of VAT at the current rate unless otherwise stated. The metal used was 92.5% silver and the rest copper so as to make the coin harder. This hardness, together with a milled edge, made 'clipping' (which was cutting slices off the edge to steal some free silver) more difficult. The British crown came about in 1707. The British Crown replaced the English Crown which was first introduced in 1526 under the monetary reform of 1526 under King Henry VIII.

The values of these crowns vary greatly, but you can expect examples to sell for hundreds of pounds (and potentially more) depending on grade. 1847 Gothic Queen Victoria Crown The inscription ‘GEORGIVS VID:G:BR:OMN:REX:F:D:’ is seen towards the top edge, with the value of the coin inscribed towards the bottom edge, ‘FIVE SHILLINGS’. Did It Enter Circulation? It’s all well and good understanding the design of the coin, but it’s important to know why it was actually made in the first place.Percy Metcalfe, CVO, RDI, was an English artist sculptor and designer. He is recognised mostly for his coin designs and his contribution to the Ashtead Pottery Collection. The British crown was a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1⁄ 4 of one pound, or 5 shillings, or 60 (old) pence. The crown was first issued during the reign of Edward VI, as part of the coinage of the Kingdom of England. After the Union of England and Scotland in 1707 a new coin, the British Crown, replaced the English Crown and Scottish Dollar. The value was set at 5 shillings and the size was 38mm in diameter and weighed about 1oz as before. The specifications for composition refer to the standard circulation versions. Proof versions continue to be minted in Sterling silver. In terms of rare crown coins, there are a lot of examples, so we’ll take you through a few of them and how much they’re worth. 1935 Jubilee Crown – Raised Edge Proof Error/Gold Versions

Although the coin was always part of the British coin family, its large size made it unpopular for general circulation and the half-crown was favoured as the de-facto largest coin in circulation. The Crown was more-or-less relegated to a commemorativecoin. By 1551, silver was being used to produce crowns, although gold was sometimes still used. The silver crown was quite large, being about 38mm and weighing about one ounce. Around that time many Europeans countries had similar sized silver coins which made them good for international trade as they were essentially interchangeable. This coin was presented to Charles II as the new crown piece. However, it was rejected in the end, as a design from the Roettiers Brothers was chosen instead.

New Zealand's original fifty-cent pieces, and Australia's previously round but now dodecagonal fifty-cent piece, although valued at five shillings in predecimal accounting, are all smaller than the standard silver crown pieces issued by those countries (and the UK). They were in fact similarly sized to the predecimal half crown (worth two shillings and sixpence). This was during the time of the Union of Scotland and England, and so the crown was a replacement for the Scottish Dollar . It was also at this time that the pre-decimal penny was introduced. Aside from the gold 1935 Jubilee crown, there were also regular crowns issued during the reign of George V that all had very small mintage. George V Kindleberger, Charles P. (2005). A Financial History of Western Europe. Taylor & Francis. p.60. ISBN 9780415378673.