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The history of the British crown coin…
Today crown coins are usually issued to mark special occasions of national importance and are intended to be commemoratives rather than ordinary circulation coins. But they have seen some significant changes over the decades...
The British crown first appeared during the reign of Henry VIII and was struck from gold. Issued in 1544, the ‘Double rose’ as it came to be known had a twin rose deign topped with a large crown on the obverse.
Charles II Crown
Crown coins weren’t struck regularly from silver until 1662 under Charles II – which is when all the previous denominations of gold coins were replaced by milled guineas.
Silver crown coins enter circulation…
The crown issued for circulation that year marked the end of hammered coins as the Royal Mint transferred to mill striking permanently after centuries of working by hand.
At this point the crown started to look more familiar, and it has remained roughly the same size (almost 30mm in diameter) to the present day.
The coins’ generous dimensions leant it an air of importance, and crowns were usually struck in a new monarch’s coronation year. This was true of every monarch since King George IV up until the present monarch in 1953, with the single exception of King George V.
The 1965 Churchill Memorial Crown – the first crown coin to feature a non-monarch
With its large size, many of the later coins were primarily commemoratives. The 1965 issue carried the image of Winston Churchill on the reverse, the first time a non-monarch or commoner was ever placed on a British coin, and marked his death.
Decimalisation arrives…
Traditionally crowns had a face value of five shillings, but after decimalisation on 15th February 1971 the crown became the 25p coin – one of the UK’s most unusual denominations.
The 25p pieces were issued to commemorate significant events, with one of the earliest issues being the Silver Wedding Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip in 1972.
1981 Charles and Diana Wedding Crown
In 1980 an issue was authorised for the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; and, in 1981, the coin was issued to celebrate the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. All of these issues were struck in large mintages, in plastic cases, and in cupro-nickel. However, in addition to this, limited numbers of collectors’ coins of these modern issues were struck to proof quality separately by the Royal Mint in sterling silver.
Legal tender changes from 25p to £5…
The legal tender value of the crown remained as 25p until 1990 when their face value was increased to £5 in view of its relatively large size compared to other coins.
Since the value increased to £5 in 1990 it quickly became recognised as the nation’s flagship commemorative coin and remained possible to buy these coins through banks and post offices (as well as the Royal Mint, The Westminster Collection and other distributors) in circulating quality right up until 2009.
Farewell to the face value £5 coin…
The last ever £5 for £5 crown coin – 2010 The Restoration of the Monarchy
£5 coins continued to be available for a couple more years at face value in brilliant uncirculated quality. But sadly, today the Royal Mint only releases £5 coins in presentation packs selling for £13.
The British crown has undoubtedly seen many changes throughout the years, from metals, size and denomination – it certainly is a coin with an interesting history.
What’s been the most significant change for you? Leave a comment below.
Sign the petition to bring back the £5 for £5 by clicking here
Discover how you can be one of just 1,000 collectors able to own the new 2016 UK Queen’s 90th Birthday £5 for £5 – click here.
National UK £5 Coin Ballot Announced
A national ballot has just been announced to enable 1,000 lucky collectors the chance to own the Queen’s 90th Birthday £5 Coin for its face value.
The 2016 Queen’s 90th Birthday £5 Coin
The Royal Mint stopped making the nation’s flagship £5 coins available for its face value in 2012. However, the new ballot means that the British public once again has the chance to own the new UK £5 coin for £5.
The History of the £5 Coin
Traditionally, major British events were celebrated with commemorative crowns, which had a face value of 25p, or 5 shillings prior to decimalisation in February 1971. But in 1990 the face value was increased to £5 to give the coin a value consistent with its weight and size.
£5 coins are the flagship coins of the UK and are used to commemorate some of our most important royal events and anniversaries.
The first ever £5 Crown Coin was The Queen Mother’s 90th Birthday Crown Coin, with other popular issues include The Queen and Prince Philip’s 50th Golden Wedding in 1997, The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Crown in 1999, and the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005.
Commenting on the launch of the ballot, The Westminster Collection Chairman, Stephen Allen said: “I’m delighted to finally be able to offer at least some UK collectors the chance to own the UK £5 coin for its face value”
The ballot opens at 10am on Friday 15th January and will close at 5pm on 29th February.
The ONLY way to own Britain’s new UK £5 for £5
Click here to find out how you can own the 2016 UK 90th Birthday £5 for it’s face value.
Christmas on Coins – Five Festive Stories…
With the festive season underway, Christmas-themed coins and medals are proving popular with collectors again this year.
I’ve taken a look at the stories behind 5 of the most collectible Christmas coins and medals available today…
The star- shaped Christmas coin: 
This Australian festive star-shaped Christmas coin features a beautiful full-colour image of a snow-covered Christmas tree. But what makes it even more special is the hole in the capsule, which allows a ribbon to be tied transforming the coin into a Christmas tree ornament.
Struck from .999 silver in an innovative star-shaped design, this coin would be the highlight of any tree!
The only ‘official’ Christmas coin: 
This coin, featuring a gold-plated Rudolph, can lay claim to being the world’s only ‘official’ Christmas coin. Why? Because it is issued on behalf of ‘Christmas Island’ – a tiny Pacific atoll that is part of Kiribati.
Each year, Christmas Island releases a new edition of this silver crown coin, and they have become some of the most sought after festive coins issued worldwide. After all, you can’t get more authentic than a Christmas coin from Christmas Island!
The fastest-selling and most collectible coins in the world:
The Royal Canadian Mint Silver $20 Coins have become a collecting phenomenon. First issued in 2011 they became some of the fastest-selling, most collectible coins of all time.
The very first mintage of 200,000 coins sold out within 29 days – that’s 7,000 coins a day.
Both of these coins have sold out in Canada and it’s unlikely to be long until they sell out in the UK too.
A moving Christmas tribute:
The French Mint, La Monnaie de Paris, have issued a medal to pay tribute to the soldiers of the First World War.
The artistic masterpiece features a design that represents the Christmas Truce – showing a scene of rare peace and goodwill between enemy soldiers in the trenches.
The Christmas Truce was a series of widespread but unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front around Christmas 1914. In the week leading up to the holiday, German and British soldiers crossed trenches to exchange seasonal greetings and talk.
Roughly 100,000 British and German troops were involved in the unofficial cessations of hostility along the Western Front.
The Snowman and the Snowdog:
Everyone is familiar with the magical Christmas story of The Snowman and The Snowdog. Last year, the Isle of Man issued a crown-sized coin featuring the loveable characters from the 2012 sequel film to Raymond Briggs classic story.
The Snowman and The Snowdog is a 2012 animated short film. It is the sequel to The Snowman, and was created to mark the 30th anniversary of the original short film. The Snowman and The Snowdog is dedicated to John Coates, the film’s producer, who died in September 2012.
If you’re interested: 
If you fancy adding a Christmas coin to your collection, or perhaps as a gift, we have just 24 star-shaped Christmas Coins available.