Crown (British coin)

The Crown is a historic British coin worth five shillings or 60 pence or a quarter -pound.

The coin in the wake of the currency reform was introduced by Henry VIII in the year in 1526. The Crown was initially a gold coin and had a fine weight of 2.85 grams 3.11 grams Total weight. Due to a progressive deterioration of the gold content, the Crown in 1661 was replaced by the guinea.

The first silver crowns were during the reign of Edward VI. shaped and had a German thaler similar purity of 28.546 grams. From 1816, when the British monetary system was standardized, this still amounted to 26.166 grams and 28.276 grams and a diameter of 38.61 mm. As with all silver coins, only 500/1000 parts silver was used from 1920, from 1947 the Crown was coined as a copper -nickel coin.

Until 1625 the obverse showed the king on horseback, the back of the plate under cross country. Since Charles II, the front, the bust of the monarch dar. Since 1818, the back bore the stamp of the Italian Benedetto Pistrucci ( 1783-1855 ), representing the St. George Slaying the Dragon. Still to this day the artistic motive for the Sovereign, a British gold coin will be used.

All Crowns that. During the reigns of George III (up to 1820) and George IV ( 1820-1830 ) and from 1887 to 1902 and from 1937 and 1951 were issued, bearing the motif.

The Crown was not applied annually as a large coin, but traditionally always in the Coronation year of a new monarch.

The embossing of the Crown in 1968 set in the context of the decimalization of the British coinage, but a 25- pence coin is since 1972 on special occasions marked without indication of value, commonly known as its Crown ( for example, on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II ).