Crown, Coin Type from United Kingdom - detailed information

The British Crown coin, the successor to the English Crown and the Scottish Dollar, came into being with the Union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland in 1707. As with the English coin, its value was five shillings, or sixty pence - one shilling being twelve pence.

Always a heavy silver coin weighing about one ounce, during the 19th and 20th centuries the Crown declined from being a real means of exchange to being a coin rarely spent and minted for commemorative purposes only. In that format it has continued to be minted, even following decimalisation of the British currency in 1971 (although the decimal Crown is now denominated as £5).

The legal tender value of the pre-decimal Crown remained as five shillings from 1544 to 1965. However, for most of this period there was no denominational designation or "face value" mark displayed on the coin - people were supposed to recognise it by size and weight. From 1927 to 1939, the word "CROWN" appears in the design, and from 1951 to 1960 this was changed to "FIVE SHILLINGS".

The coins were silver until 1937, when the denomination was debased to copper-nickel.

After decimalisation in 1971, the face value kept its five shillings equivalent at 25 new pence, later simply 25 pence, although the face value is not shown on any of these issues. Even though they have been withdrawn from circulation, pieces struck prior to 1990 - all the way back to 1818 - continue to be legal tender for that amount (i.e. they have not been formally demonetised).