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, the value of the denomination was five shillings, or sixty 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.
From time to time, some patterns were considered but not approved for actual minting and release into circulation; these are listed below. |