EDWARD VIII PATTERN CROWN OBVERSE & REVERSE MODELS

This week, Stack’s Bowers Galleries is proud to offer a historically monumental offering. In our upcoming August ANA World’s Fair of Money world coin auction, we will be presenting unique obverse and reverse uniface models struck in tin for the proposed Edward VIII Crown. The obverse model is the only known striking in any metal while the reverse model is known in silver. These pieces represent the short-lived reign of King Edward VIII of Great Britain, who ruled from January 20, 1936 until his abdication on December 11, 1936, a grand total of 326 days, one of the shortest-reigning monarchs in British and Commonwealth history.

the Royal mint created patterns for new coinage with Edward VIII’s portraiture and name/titles. King Edward VIII cared little for tradition, including the tradition set forth by previous monarchs of alternating portrait facing. If he had followed tradition, his portrait would face right, since his father King George V’s faced left. Edward insisted on facing left, “So as to show the part in his hair”.

The first piece we feature displays the proposed obverse for Edward VIII’s Crown, with the already mentioned left facing bare head. The surrounding inscription reads: “EDWARDVS VIII D:G: BR: OMN: REX”, signifying Edward VIII, “by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King”. This design was engraved by T. Humphrey Paget, and his initials appear below the truncation. The reverse model depicts the crowned royal arms and supporters with the lower inscription of, “CROWN: 1937”. The upper inscription reads: “FID: DEF: :IND: IMP”, which stands for, “Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India”. The initials of the engraver, G. Kruger Gray appear just below the supporters.

Each of these pieces has a plain reverse with “MODEL” in raised letters in the center, and each has a toothed border with a milled edge. Both pieces are housed in NGC holders, with the obverse model graded NGC PROOF-62 and the reverse model graded NGC PROOF-63. The Royal mint museum contains the finest collection of Edward VIII pattern coinage in existence; however it does not contain examples of these models.

Their collection does contain a reverse model for the 1937 Crown, however it is of a different design, featuring a crowned coat of arms with different legend (see museum number RMM 14), as well as four examples of the Crown struck in silver (RMM 10-13). (RMM 12 is the British museum specimen, which has been on loan since 1973, and RMM 13 is a Matte Proof.) These examples are reportedly unique and are extremely significant historically and to numismatics.

To read the complete article, see: Reportedly Unique Obverse & Reverse Models for the Famed Edward VIII Pattern Crown (www.stacksbowers.com/NewsMedia/Blogs/TabId/780/ArtMID/
2678/ArticleID/64566/Reportedly-Unique-Obverse--Reverse
-Models-for-the-Famed-Edward-VIII-Pattern-Crown.aspx)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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