1951 FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN CROWN IN ITS ORIGINAL BOX - Stunning condition and worth so much more with it's box. Coins for Collectors and The Great British Coin Hunt.

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The British crown came about in 1707. The British Crown replaced the English Crown which was first introduced in 1526 under the monetary reform of 1526 under King Henry VIII. Although the coin was always part of the British coin family, its large size made it unpopular for general circulation and the half-crown was favoured as the de-facto largest coin in circulation. The Crown was more-or-less relegated to a commemorativecoin. After the Union of England and Scotland in 1707 a new coin, the British Crown, replaced the English Crown and Scottish Dollar. The value was set at 5 shillings and the size was 38mm in diameter and weighed about 1oz as before. Crowns were released into circulation quite regularly up until 1902, but this did not continue in the 20th century and instead, the coin become more of a commemorative, collectable item. Mintage And Different Versions Estimated Values for different versions of the 1951 Festival of Britain Crown So, How Rare Are The Coins?

The dies for all gold and silver coins of Queen Anne and King George I were engraved by John Croker, a migrant originally from Dresden in the Duchy of Saxony. [3] The idea behind it was quite simple. Following World War Two, Britain was still suffering from the years of austerity before, and the Festival of Britain was a great way to boost the morale of the people. The coin's origins lie in the English silver crown, one of many silver coins that appeared in various countries from the 16th century onwards (most famously the Spanish piece of eight), all of similar size and weight (approx 38mm diameter, 25g fine silver) and thus interchangeable in international trade. The Kingdom of England also minted gold Crowns until early in the reign of Charles II. [2]

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British Gold Proof Commemorative Crowns". taxfreegold.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017 . Retrieved 23 June 2017. The legal tender value of the crown remained as five shillings from 1544 to 1965. However, for most of this period there was no denominational designation or "face value" mark of value displayed on the coin. From 1927 to 1939, the word "CROWN" appears, and from 1951 to 1960 this was changed to "FIVE SHILLINGS". Coins minted since 1818 remain legal tender with a face value of 25 pence. Percy Metcalfe, CVO, RDI, was an English artist sculptor and designer. He is recognised mostly for his coin designs and his contribution to the Ashtead Pottery Collection.

In the 20th century, most crown coins were commemorative, and this era saw the introduction of some of the most popular crown coins that are sought after to this day. 1935 Jubilee Crown The Festival was a national celebration that reached millions of visitors across the UK and had several exhibitions located throughout the region, including the South Bank display in London all the way to the York Art Festival. Benedetto Pistrucci was a distinguished Italian Gem-engraver, medallist and coin-engraver who became Chief-medallist at the Royal Mint in England. The five-shilling coin would be a mainstay of the coinage in Britain for a few centuries. However, it started to fall out of favour during the 19th century because it was quite heavy and big in size too. Always a heavy silver coin weighing around one ounce, during the 19th and 20th centuries the crown declined from being a real means of exchange to being a coin rarely spent, and minted for commemorative purposes only. Unlike in some territories of the British Empire (such as Jamaica), in the UK the crown was never replaced as circulating currency by a five-shilling banknote.Decimal" crowns were minted a few times after decimalisation of the British currency in 1971, initially with a nominal value of 25 (new) pence. However, commemorative crowns issued since 1990 have a face value of five pounds. [1] History [ edit ]