Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Crown Collection

The commemorative issues of Queen Elizabeth II

The United Kingdom Crown has for nearly a century now been the primary commemorative coin of the reign, ever since the coin left general circulation in the early part of the 20th Century.

Today, the crown is released as a decimal £5 coin by the Royal Mint and there tends to be three or four issues in any given year. However, this was not always the case – and it is only a few decades ago that the release of commemorative crowns were few and far between – and reserved only for only the most important national occasions.

Complete set of key UK coins

Now, for the first time, Harrington & Byrne has been able to bring together all of the commemorative crown releases from the early reign of Queen Elizabeth II – all issued prior to the decision by the Royal Mint in 1990 to break 400 years of tradition of a crown denoting a coin of five shillings. (Indeed, even after decimalisation in 1971, the early decimal crowns would carry a value of 25p – directly linked to the pre-decimal value of five shillings).

A selection of seven United Kingdom coins stretching over the first three decades of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. We have collated a limited number of these remarkable collections to offer collectors – let me tell you what exactly features…

1953 Coronation Crown
The first Crown of the reign issued to coincide with the Coronation in 1953. Significantly it featured a now famous equestrian portrait in place of a traditional effigy – the first time in 300 years that a reigning monarch had been depicted on horseback.

1960 New York Exhibition
Arguably the most unusual release within the collection, the 1960 Crown would be released to mark the British Exhibition in New York and would feature the same reverse design as had appeared on the earlier Coronation Crown.

1965 Churchill Crown
The famous 1965 UK Crown was issued to mark the passing of the Wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill in January of that year at the age of 90. The coin would feature a now iconic portrait of the man with his name CHURCHILL on the reverse.

1972 Silver Wedding Crown
The first UK Crown to be issued to mark a Royal Wedding Anniversary, the 1972 coin was released to celebrate the Silver Wedding Anniversary of the Queen and Prince Philip. It would also be the first decimal crown with a denomination of 25p.

1977 Silver Jubilee Crown
The Silver Jubilee of the reign was celebrated in 1977 and saw a new crown issued, which harked back to the first crown of Queen Elizabeth’s reign with the return of an equestrian portrait.

1980 Queen Mother Crown
Issued to celebrate the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother – despite the iconic status that she held to the nation, this was the first time she had been commemorated on a United Kingdom coin.

1981 Royal Wedding Crown
Perhaps the most famous crown issue from the Royal Mint of the reign, the 1981 UK Crown was released to celebrate the ‘Wedding of the Century’ as Prince Charles wed Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Together these seven iconic United Kingdom coins are housed in one exclusive collection that has been put together for Harrington & Byrne collectors. A wonderful opportunity to own a set of historic British commemorative coins of real numismatic significance, they sit together in a Deluxe Presentation Case and are accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.

Key Issue Information:

• Collection of SEVEN historic United Kingdom Crowns from the early part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II
• Going back to the Coronation Crown of 1953, the set includes every commemorative crown release up until the 1981 Royal Wedding Coin – the final non-£5 crown
• All coins originally struck by the Royal Mint
• Housed together in one Deluxe Presentation Case with Certificate of Authenticity