Hi all, I have 4 x 1951 festival of Britain coins here at home. 2 x have the edge inscription: MDCCLI CIVIUM INDUSTRIA FLORET CIVITAS MCMLI * reading upwards towards the obverse, the other 2 x have it readin downwards towards the reverse. Can anybody help explain whether this is normal and/or under what circumstances this is designed for? Many thanks
Don't know about that specific issue, but basically that is normal - the edge lettering can be "this way" or "that way", depending on which way they get into the press. Statistically neither orientation is more "rare" than the other. In countries where lettered edges are uncommon, some people consider the two types to be different varieties, and may collect both. In countries where edge lettering is pretty normal and has been in use for many years, people tend to not differentiate ... Christian
Yes, this is normal for this issue. There are known to be specimens where part of the lettering is missing, but for the orientation, either way is common. The exception to this was the 1966 Irish 10 shilllings proof set, which came as a 'pair' - one coin had the edge lettering one way, and the other had it the other way. But for circulating coins, random is the order of the day!
