British crown coin
242172
221610733
2008-06-25T08:05:02Z
William Avery
1398
Adjust linking to disambiguate [[Gothic]]
{{unsourced|article|date=October 2007}}
[[Image:BritishCrown.jpeg|right|frame|Crown reverse, 1953 and 1960.]]
The '''Crown''', originally known as the "[[crown of the Rose (coin)|crown of the double rose]]", was an [[England|English]] coin introduced as part of [[Monarch|King]] [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII's]] [[money|monetary]] reform of [[1526]] with the value of 5 shillings.
The first [[coin]]s were minted in [[gold]], and the first [[silver]] crowns were not produced until the reign of King [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]]. Although many people believe that all crowns were minted in silver, until the time of the [[Commonwealth of England]] it was common for crowns to be minted in gold in some quantity. No crowns were minted in the reign of [[Mary I of England|Mary I]], but silver as well as gold coins were minted in the reigns of [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]], [[James I of England|James I]], and [[Charles I of England|Charles I]].
==History==
Crowns were minted in all reigns between Elizabeth I of England and [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom]]. The [[Queen Victoria]] 'Gothic' crown from 1847 (mintage just 8,000 and produced to celebrate the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic revival]]) can be viewed as an important coin to add to a [[numismatist]]'s collection. The [[Royal Mint]] has stated that the design is one of the most beautiful on any British coin.
The crown was a large coin, and did not circulate well. However, crowns were generally struck in a new monarch's coronation year (true of each monarch since [[George IV]]), though in George VI case, the crowns were in proof condition only.
The [[George V of the United Kingdom|George V]] 'wreath' crowns from 1927 to 1936 (excluding 1935 when the more common 'rocking horse' crown was minted to commemorate the King's Silver Jubilee), the 'wreath' crowns depict a wreath on the reverse of the coin) are less common. Generally struck late in the year and intended to be purchased as Christmas gifts, they did not circulate well, and were not struck in large numbers, with the rarest of all dates, 1934, (mintage just 932) fetching several thousand pounds each. The last five shilling piece was minted in [[1965]].
After [[decimalisation]] on [[February 15th]], [[1971]] a new coin known as a 25p (25 pence) piece was introduced. Whilst being legal tender and having the same decimal value as a crown, the 25p pieces were issued to commemorate events, e.g. 1972 was for the 25th wedding anniversary of [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip]]. The 1977 issue was to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's [[silver Jubilee]], the 1980 issue for the 80th birthday of [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon|Elizabeth, the Queen Mother]] and, in 1981, the coin was issued to celebrate the marriage of [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Lady Diana Spencer]] and [[Prince Charles]].
Further issues continue to be minted to the present day. With its large size, many of the latter coins were primarily commemoratives. The [[1965]] issue carried the image of [[Sir Winston Churchill]] on the reverse, the first time a non-monarch was ever placed on a British coin. 19,640,000 were minted, a very high number at the time, making them of little value today except as a mark of respect for the [[WWII]] leader.
The crown was worth 5 [[shilling]]s (or 60 pre-[[decimalisation|decimal]] pence) until decimalisation, and was also the basis of other denominations such as the [[half crown]] and [[English coin Double Crown|double crown]]. After decimalisation, commemorative coins of the same size continued to be issued, initially with a value of [[British twenty-five pence coin|twenty-five pence]], and then, from 1990, with a value of [[British five pound coin|five pounds]].
The crown coin was nicknamed the ''dollar'', but is not to be confused with the British [[trade dollar]] that circulated in the [[Orient]].
==Changing values==
The face or denominational value of the crown remained as five shillings from 1544 to 1965. For most of this period there was no mark of value on the coin. From 1927 to 1937 the word "CROWN" appears, and from 1951 to 1960 this was changed to "FIVE SHILLINGS". After [[decimalisation]] in 1971, the face value kept its five shillings equivalent at [[British Twenty-Five Pence coin|25 new pence]], later simply 25 pence, although the face value is not shown on any of these issues.
From 1990, the crown was re-tariffed at five pounds (£5), probably in view of its relatively large size compared with its face value, and taking into consideration its production costs, and the Royal Mint's profits on sales of commemorative coins. While this change was understandable, it has brought with it a slight confusion, and the popular misbelief that all crowns have a five pound face value, including the pre-1990 ones.
Although all "normal" issues since 1951 have been composed of cupro-nickel, special proof versions have been produced for sale to collectors, and as gift items, in silver, gold, and occasionally [[platinum]].
The fact that gold £5 crowns are now produced means that there are two different strains of five pound gold coins, namely crowns and what are now termed "quintuple sovereigns" for want of a more concise term.
[[numismatics|Numismatically]], the term "crown-sized" is used generically to describe large silver or cupro-nickel coins of about 40 [[millimetre|mm]] in [[diameter]]. Most [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries still issue crown-sized coins for sale to collectors.
[[New Zealand]]'s original and present fifty-cent pieces, and [[Australia|Australia's]] previously round but now [[dodecagon]]al [[50 cent coin (Australian)|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).
==Mintages==
<center>
{| width="58%" border="0"
|-----
| width="22%" | || width="22%" |
| width="12%" |
| width="22%" | || width="22%" |
|-----
! '''Edward VII ''' || || || ||
|-----
| 1902</div> || <div align="right"> 256,020</div> || || ||
|-----
| || || || ||
|-----
! '''George V''' || || || ||
|-----
| 1927 || <div align="right"> 15,030 (prf)</div> || || 1932 || <div align="right"> 2,395</div>
|-----
| 1928 || <div align="right"> 9,034</div> || || 1933 || <div align="right"> 7,132</div>
|-----
| 1929 || <div align="right"> 4,994</div> || || 1934 || <div align="right"> 932</div>
|-----
| 1930 || <div align="right"> 4,847</div> || || 1935 || <div align="right"> 714,769</div>
|-----
| 1931 || <div align="right"> 4,056</div> || || 1936 || <div align="right"> 2,473</div>
|-----
| || || || ||
|-----
! '''George VI''' || || || ||
|-----
| 1937 || <div align="right"> 418,699</div>|| || 1951 || <div align="right"> 1,983,540</div>
|-----
| || || || ||
|-----
! '''Elizabeth II''' || || || ||
|-----
| 1953 || <div align="right"> 5,962,621</div> || || 1965 || <div align="right"> 19,640,000</div>
|-----
| 1960 || <div align="right"> 1,024,038</div> || || ||
|}</center>
{{British coinage}}
{{Crown}}
[[Category:Coins of England]]
[[Category:Coins of the United Kingdom|Crown]]
==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Coronation Crown 1953 obverse.jpg|The 1953 Coronation Crown, obverse
Image:Coronation Crown 1953 reverse.jpg|The 1953 Coronation Crown, reverse
Image:Churchill Crown obverse.jpg|The 1965 Churchill Crown, obverse
Image:Churchill Crown reverse.jpg|The 1965 Churchill Crown, reverse
Image:Jubilee Crown 1977 obverse.jpg|The 1977 Queen's Silver Jubilee Crown, obverse
Image:Jubilee Crown 1977 reverse.jpg|The 1977 Queen's Silver Jubilee Crown, reverse
<!--Image:1934 Wreath Crown.jpg|Reverse of 1934 Wreath Crown-->
</gallery>
==External links==
*[http://www.coinsgb.com British Coins] - Free information about British coins. Includes an online forum
{{start box}}
{{succession box | title= Crown | before=none | after=[[british twenty-five pence coin|Twenty–five pence]] |
years=1526–1965}}
{{end box}}
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