I finally filled the "Edward VIII hole" in my British kings collection

I have working on a collection of coins that feature British kings and queens from Alfred the Great to Queen Elizabeth II. Edward VIII poses a special problem because the only coins with his portrait are patterns and are wicked expensive. Heritage just sold one recently.

I finally decided to buy one of the many coronation medals that were planed at the time or created after he abdicated. None of them are official, of course, because he was never
coronated.

For those unfamiliar with the history, Edward VIII became king after George V died. He fell in love with Wallis Simson who was a twice divorced American citizen. The Church of England would not sanction the marriage because Simson’s divorced partners were still alive. Edward VIII could not remain king if he married her, so he abdicated.

This piece is hard to photograph because it is graded SP-62 and has a number of hairlines on the obverse. The photos looked worse than the medal really is. This is a decent representation of the piece.

 

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Nice medal and a nice solution. I have a similar aim, but I have a rule that each coin must've been minted for circulation, so I can ignore Edward VIII completely. Even so, I gave a small nod to him (not that he deserves it!) by getting one of his colonial issues, which lack a portrait but are very cheap:

Edward VIII 10 Cents, 1936

East Africa. Bronze, 30.6mm, 10.9g. 1936-H. EDWARDVS VIII REX ET IND:IMP:, TEN CENTS, KN (engraver). Curved tusks flank the centre hole, EAST AFRICA 10 (KM# 24).

It does, though, create a hole in my collection rather than fill it

 

Have you tried putting the slab on a flatbed scanner? A good friend of mine uses his scanner for slabbed coins, especially proofs and they come out real purty, better than most photographs. We all know how hard proofs are to photograph.

 

Yes, he did the country a favor when he abdicated. Here is one of the main reasons.



Edward admired Hitler and wrote some papers that expressed his admiration. George VI destroyed that material after he discovered it.

 

The tale that I heard that has always confirmed what a bad lot Edward VIII was, concerned his father's dogs. George V had a number of Clumber Spaniels, which were his favourite breed. Edward's first action on his father's death was to have them all shot.
In Britain there are few more serious sins than being unkind to animals.

 

Edward VIII became King of England in early 1936 and abdicated late that year, because:
1. He gave up the throne for the woman he loved.
or
2. He was a Nazi agent or pro-Fascist or pro-American or something like that.
3. He wanted Winston Churchill to stop throwing his false teeth at him.
4. He knew too much about UFO's.
5. He didn't like his profile on coins.

 

Ouch - never heard that one before but telling if true.

 

From the San Francisco Chronicle December 7, 1994:



Benicia is a town near San Francisco.

 

Another story that was once permeated was that he was gay and his marriage to Wallis Simpson was a way out of his duty to produce an heir to the throne. That said he was a thoroughly dislikable person as touched on in the movie the kings speech.