From 1816-1919 the crown was 0.925 silver, this was reduced to 0.500 silver in 1920 and in 1947 the Crown became Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel). The British economy, especially after the World Wars, took its toll on the crown too.
The Crown was more-or-less relegated to a commemorative coin. The value was set at 5 shillings and the size was 38mm in diameter and weighed about 1oz as before.Īlthough 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. This hardness, together with a milled edge, made 'clipping' (which was cutting slices off the edge to steal some free silver) more difficult.Īfter the Union of England and Scotland in 1707 a new coin, the British Crown, replaced the English Crown and Scottish Dollar. The metal used was 92.5% silver and the rest copper so as to make the coin harder. Around that time many Europeans countries had similar sized silver coins which made them good for international trade as they were essentially interchangeable. The silver crown was quite large, being about 38mm and weighing about one ounce. It was made of 22 carat gold ("crown gold") and has a value of five shillings (a quarter of a pound).īy 1551, silver was being used to produce crowns, although gold was sometimes still used. The English Crown first appeared in 1526. General Description: CrownsThe Crown is a very old coin, with origins dating back to Henry VIII.
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