Modern World: UK Crown

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by dougsmit, Apr 18, 2014.

  1. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    A recent discussion in the ancient section made me want one of the St. George and dragon crowns. Realizing I am not a condition fan and would not touch a slabbed coin, I was looking for something just over melt value. I returned from a trip to Indiana without seeing a single ancient (I called a store in Indianapolis but was told not to come because they were not ready to sell the ones they had) to find this 1888 narrow date Victoria in my held mail. It weighs 27.77g which seems a bit light or is that OK considering wear? I see some on eBay shown on scales lighter than that which scares me.
    0bb1888crown.jpg
     
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  3. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    I hope it's a winner => it's gorgeous (I love Vickies and I love dragons!!)
     
  4. Mat

    Mat Ancient Coincoholic

    Nice addition, Doug. Mine was a recent post here if you remember.

    [​IMG]
     
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  5. CoinMike747

    CoinMike747 Barber Connoisseur

    Sweet newp Doug! Here are my two: 1889 British Crown.jpg 1896 British Crown.JPG
     
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  6. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

    Theres something nice about a little wear and dark toning.... or a lot.

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  7. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    For those not requiring silver in their silver coins, the cheapest entrant in the St. George race is the 1951 Festival of Britain special 5 shilling crown. Most seem to be kept in their original boxes which are in poor shape. Mine was kept tails up making that side less abraded than the portrait but it is the side of interest anyway.

    Does anyone know how these were sold? What was the issue price? I'm told there is no difference between the coins in the red and green boxes or the slide or top off cases. Correct? I have never seen a circulated one so I assume they were sold over face. Details appreciated.
    0bbuk1951cr.jpg
     
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  8. wyvern

    wyvern Active Member

    I might well be wrong (it has been known ) but I thought that these were copper-nickel and sold for five shillings which gave the mint a modest profit
     
  9. onecenter

    onecenter Member

    There were no silver 5 shilling pieces sold for the 1951 Festival of Britain. The coins were all copper-nickel.
     
  10. maridvnvm

    maridvnvm Well-Known Member

    This thread inspired me to go and find some of my crowns which have been largely ignored for too many years. I picked out an early one and a later one.

    George III - 1818

    [​IMG]

    George V - 1935 (with a much more modern interpretation)

    [​IMG]
     
  11. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    Nice pick-ups => way to branch-out, Martin-dawg!!
     
  12. YOC

    YOC Well-Known Member

    They call your second coin the rocking horse crown.....
     
  13. vlaha

    vlaha Respect. The. Hat.

    :arghh:
     
  14. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I thought that was obvious. Wikipedia says they went to 50% in 1920 and eliminated silver in 1947? I was not sure if this should be considered a coin or what. Coins are made for spending and don't come in boxes. Maundy silver and medals only for collectors don't count.

    I meant when was the last circulating silver? The question was whether the mint issued them in a box with literature figuring that people would save them so they would make a profit without raising the price above 5s/or if they sold for a premium when new.
     
  15. onecenter

    onecenter Member

    It most certainly was a coin, with "five shillings" prominently struck under the bust of King George VI.

    Undoubtedly, few of the commemoratives ever would have circulated, since so few of the previous silver issues were ever minted, crowns would be a rare sight in circulation. Great Britain in 1951 was a victorious ally but a coin of this denomination was a lot of money back then. The post-War recovery was hard on our British friends.

    Crowns, whether silver or copper-nickel were often issued for commemorative occasions only after the reign of Queen Victoria, with few exceptions, from 1902-1965. Nonetheless, the copper-nickel crowns of 1951, 1953, 1960 and 1965 were issued in much larger quantities compared to the silver coins issued before 1938.
     
  16. wyvern

    wyvern Active Member

    any one got an idea why crowns of George v known as the wreath crowns were issued----1934 mintage 932--seems like a lot of work for so few
     
  17. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Well-Known Member

    As Per Tony Clayton`s website.
    In 1927 George V issued a new design which was issued annually until 1936, with the exception of a special Jubilee design in 1935.
    The design of the coin was as follows:
    Obverse: Head left, GEORGIVS V DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX
    Reverse: Crown and date within a wreath, FID DEF IND IMP CROWN
    These crowns had very low mintages, as they were struck according to demand, and by 1934 interest had dwindled to the extent that only 932 were minted

    http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/fives.html
     
  18. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    Thank you for the above link which provided more information than anything I had found although still missing my specific questions. It states: "...Indeed, many were struck at The Royal Mint's stand at the Festival, although such coins cannot be distinguished from those struck at the Royal Mint itself. The 1951 crown only exists in Proof form."

    I assume it was possible to buy a coin you saw minted and received one of the various cases to hold it but that still leaves the question of why there are two styles and two color boxes. Spink says the coins are all Proof-like rather than Proof but again I assume this is a distinction not important to the 1951 UK customer. Most I see sold appear to have been treated poorly as might be expected by souvenir items from a Festival bought by non collectors. No one mentions the issue price of any Crown and one of the above responses acts like it is a stupid question since the coin is clearly marked Five Shillings. I will point out that the recent US 5 ounce rounds of the national parks are clearly marked Quarter Dollar but sold for a bit more. I wonder if I could take four of them to the local McDonalds and get a sandwich from the dollar menu (I won't be trying that one). Mention of the lack of popularity of the 1934 suggests that the coins were not struck for circulation and, I assume, must have been priced over what people might reasonably pay.

    I have not had a lot of experience with modern and UK coins; I collect ancients. I am amazed at how hard it is to find any online information about UK coins beyond current market value and an occasional informative eBay listing. The same link that daveydempsey provided states that a million 1960 crowns were made for general circulation as if this was the unusual situation. New collectors, it seems, are expected to know that crowns were not really spending money.
     
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