British Crown Coins, Five Shilllings 25 Pence 5 Pound

Information about British Crown Coins

The Crown Story

First Ever Crown
The world's first crown sized coin was issued in about 1484 at
Joachimsthal in Bohemia, using silver from local mines including
Annaberg, Schneeberg, and Altenberg. Joachimstal is now in the west of
the Czech Republic, in the Erzgebirge (ore mountains), close to the
German border. The Czech name is Jachymov. It should not be confused
with the other Joachimsthal near Berlin in Germany. (Thanks M.S.)
The coins became known as Joachimstalers, and shortened to Thalers, which in turn became dollars.

Collector's Choice
Because the crown is the largest silver coin issued during most reigns,
it is often the first choice for collectors. Large format coins make it
easier to appreciate the artistry of the engraver, and silver is an
attractive metal which takes a good impression from the dies, but
without being as expensive as many gold coins. Crowns were often struck
in sufficient quantities to enable them to be purchased today at
reasonable prices.

Etymology
The name crown gees from the French gold couronne, the denier la
couronne, issued by Philip of Valois about 1339, which featured as its
obverse design, a large crown; and the cu la couronne issued by
Charles VI of France about 1384, which had a shield surmounted by a
crown.
The first crown (that of the double rose) of Henry VIII had a reverse
similar design to the "ecu d'or au soleil", a shield topped by a large
crown, and for its obverse, had a double rose also topped by a large
crown.
"Crown" had begee the gemon English name for the French cu, and for other European coins of similar value.

The First British Crowns Were Gold
The Crown first appeared as a British coin denomination in 1544 under
Henry VIII. This was a gold coin with a value of five shillings.
Perhaps we should count as a crown, two other slightly earlier coins of
Henry VIII. The "Crown of the Rose" was issued in 1526, at the strange
sounding value of 4s.6d (four shillings and sixpence). Its reverse
design was a rose. It was intended to gepete with the French cu au
soleil. It was not popular, and was discontinued within a few months,
and replaced with another coin known as the "Crown of the Rose", with a
value of five shillings. The reverse design was a Tudor double rose.
This coin is historically interesting in being the first British gold
coin to be made from gold of "only" 22 carat, rather than the previous
standard of 23 carat. 22 carat is, of course, the standard now used for
all British gold coins.
Gold crowns continued to be issued until 1662 under Charles II, when
all the previous denominations of gold coins were replaced by milled
guineas.

The First British Silver Crown
The first silver crown was produced in 1551 under Edward VI. It was one
of the first British coins to bear a date, which was in Arabic
numerals. Since then the silver crown has always been the largest
regularly issued British silver coin.
From 1551, crowns were issued in both gold and silver, until the gold crown was discontinued after 1662.


1658 Over 1657 Overdate Crown of Oliver Cromwell