Crown 1818, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information

Crown 1818, Coin from United Kingdom (withdrawn 1971)
CoinCrown 1818

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.

Crown coins issued during the reign of King George III are part of the great recoinage of 1816, and are the first issued for the United Kingdom (earlier, it was Great Britain). Unlike the other silver denominations of the time, they feature designs by Benedetto Pistrucci on both sides - an adaptation of the Saint George and the Dragon reverse from the first sovereign, and a laureate portrait of the king. Following the tradition of the time, the value of the coin is not inscribed on it - people were supposed to recognise it by its size and weight.

At the time the coins were issued, King George III no longer ruled in person but was subject to the regency of his son the Prince of Wales, later King George IV.

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 Even though they have been withdrawn from circulation, pieces struck prior to 1990 - all the way back to 1818 - continue to be legal tender for that amount (i.e. they have not been formally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

MintRoyal Mint Mint MarkNo mint mark Total Mintage 155,232
Visit the Royal Mint web site for the latest coin releases Visit the Royal Mint web site for the latest coin releases
(affiliate ad)
Obverse
United Kingdom / Crown 1818 - obverse photo

Within a toothed border, the obverse of the coin depicts the laureate head of King George III facing right. His short hair is decorated with a laurel wreath held by a tie with a loop with two ends; his neck is bare. Below the neck truncation, the surname of the designer: PISTRUCCI.

Around, the monarch's legend GEORGIUS III D: G: BRITANNIARUM REX F: D:. Translated from Latin, the legend means "George the Third, by the Grace of God, King of the Britains, Defender of the Faith".

Below, the year of issue: 1818.

Obverse Inscription GEORGIUS III D : G : BRITANNIARUM REX F: D: 1818
Reverse
United Kingdom / Crown 1818 - reverse photo

Within a toothed border, the reverse of the coin depicts an illustration of the legend of St George as the slayer of the dragon.

St George is on horseback, advancing to right, wearing a helmet and chlamys (cape, or cloak) fastened in front by a fibula, and holding a sword. His left hand clutches the rein of the horse's bridle, and he does not wear armour, other than on his lower legs and feet, with his toes bare. The saint's horse appears to be half attacking, half shrinking from the dragon, which lies wounded by George's spear and in the throes of death. The point of a spear is broken off in the dragon’s side; the shaft lays on the ground behind the horse.

In exergue, the surname of the designer: PISTRUCCI (Benedetto Pistrucci).

Surrounding the image, a Garter circlet inscribed with the Order of the Garter's motto, HONI · SOIT · QUI · MAL · Y · PENSE · (from old French: Shame on he who thinks evil).

Reverse Inscription HONI · SOIT · QUI · MAL · Y · PENSE ·
EdgeInscribed (raised lettering)Edge InscriptionDECUS ET TUTAMEN. ANNO REGNI LVIII.
Notes

The edge lettering reads either "DECUS ET TUTAMEN. ANNO REGNI LVIII." (An ornament and a guard. regnal year 58) or "DECUS ET TUTAMEN. ANNO REGNI LIX." (regnal year 59).

It was customary at the time to date coins with the date starting from the beginning of the monarch's reign.

Crown 1818: Known varieties
Variety LIX on edge
Mintage Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details

Edge lettering "DECUS ET TUTAMEN. ANNO REGNI LIX."

Variety Proof, LVIII edge
Mintage Issued: unknown
Variety Trial Piece
Images United Kingdom / Crown 1818 / Trial Piece - obverse photo United Kingdom / Crown 1818 / Trial Piece - reverse photo
Mintage Issued: unknown
Details

Uniface trial piece, 28.17.g.

Crown 1818: References to Information Used
SourceEditionAboutLinkNotes
Museums Victoria Collections 2016 Coin description link
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins 1971 Mint
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins 1971 Mintage
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins 1971 Varieties LIX, Proof LVIII edge
All (45) coins of type: Crown
Coin NameMintageEffigyLegend
Crown 1818 155,232 Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head) GEORGIUS III D : G : BRITANNIARUM REX F: D: 1818
Crown 1819 683,496 Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head) GEORGIUS III D : G : BRITANNIARUM REX F: D: 1819
Crown 1820 448,272 Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head) GEORGIUS III D : G : BRITANNIARUM REX F: D: 1820
Crown 1821 437,976 King George IV - Laureate Head GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Crown 1822 124,929 King George IV - Laureate Head GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Crown 1825 (Proof only) unknown Portrait by Jean Baptiste Merlen GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1825
Crown 1826 (Proof only) 150 Portrait by Jean Baptiste Merlen GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1826
Crown 1831 (Proof only) 100 King William IV - Bare Head GULIELMUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Crown 1834 (Pattern) unknown King William IV - Bare Head GULIELMUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Crown 1839 (Proof only) unknown Queen Victoria - Young Head VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1839
Crown 1844 94,248 Queen Victoria - Young Head VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1844
Crown 1845 159,192 Queen Victoria - Young Head VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1845
Crown 1847 140,976 Queen Victoria - Young Head VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1847
Crown 1847 Gothic 8,000 Queen Victoria - Gothic Portrait Victoria dei gratia britanniar. reg: f: d
Crown 1853 (Proof only) unknown Queen Victoria - Gothic Portrait Victoria dei gratia britanniar. reg: f: d
Crown 1887 274,665 Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head VICTORIA D: G: BRITT: REG: F: D:
Crown 1888 131,899 Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head VICTORIA D: G: BRITT: REG: F: D:
Crown 1889 1,807,223 Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head VICTORIA D: G: BRITT: REG: F: D:
Crown 1890 997,862 Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head VICTORIA D: G: BRITT: REG: F: D:
Crown 1891 566,394 Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head VICTORIA D: G: BRITT: REG: F: D:
Crown 1892 451,334 Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head VICTORIA D: G: BRITT: REG: F: D:
Crown 1893 499,157 Queen Victoria - Veiled Head VICTORIA. DEI. GRA. BRITT. REGINA. FID. DEF. IND. IMP.
Crown 1894 144,906 Queen Victoria - Veiled Head VICTORIA. DEI. GRA. BRITT. REGINA. FID. DEF. IND. IMP.
Crown 1895 252,862 Queen Victoria - Veiled Head VICTORIA. DEI. GRA. BRITT. REGINA. FID. DEF. IND. IMP.
Crown 1896 317,599 Queen Victoria - Veiled Head VICTORIA. DEI. GRA. BRITT. REGINA. FID. DEF. IND. IMP.
Crown 1897 252,118 Queen Victoria - Veiled Head VICTORIA. DEI. GRA. BRITT. REGINA. FID. DEF. IND. IMP.
Crown 1898 161,450 Queen Victoria - Veiled Head VICTORIA. DEI. GRA. BRITT. REGINA. FID. DEF. IND. IMP.
Crown 1899 166,300 Queen Victoria - Veiled Head VICTORIA. DEI. GRA. BRITT. REGINA. FID. DEF. IND. IMP.
Crown 1900 353,356 Queen Victoria - Veiled Head VICTORIA. DEI. GRA. BRITT. REGINA. FID. DEF. IND. IMP.
Crown 1902 271,143 King Edward VII - Bare Head EDWARDVS VII DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX FID: DEF: IND: IMP:
Crown 1927 (Proof only) 15,030 King George V - Bare Head GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX
Crown 1928 9,034 King George V - Bare Head GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX
Crown 1929 4,994 King George V - Bare Head GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX
Crown 1930 4,847 King George V - Bare Head GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX
Crown 1931 4,056 King George V - Bare Head GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX
Crown 1932 2,395 King George V - Bare Head GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX
Crown 1933 7,132 King George V - Bare Head GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX
Crown 1934 932 King George V - Bare Head GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX
Crown 1935 Rocking Horse 717,269 King George V - Bare Head GEORGIVS V. DG. BRITT: OMN: REX. FD. IND: IMP:
Crown 1936 2,473 King George V - Bare Head GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX
Crown 1937 445,101 King George VI - Bare Head GEORGIVS VI D : G : BR : OMN : REX.
Crown 1951 Festival of Britain 2,003,540 King George VI - Bare Head GEORGIVS VI D : G : BR : OMN : REX F: D: FIVE SHILLINGS
Crown 1953 Coronation 6,002,621 On Horseback, by Gilbert Ledward ELIZABETH · II · DEI · GRATIA · BRITT OMN · REGINA · FIDEI · DEFENSOR
Crown 1960 1,094,038 Queen Elizabeth II - First Portrait ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F. D. FIVE SHILLINGS
Crown 1965 Churchill 19,640,000 Queen Elizabeth II - First Portrait ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F. D. 1965
Advertising
Family-run store trading in rare coins and bullion, plus jewellery design and sales
Family-run store trading in rare coins and bullion, plus jewellery design and sales
My Collection
Please sign up and/or log in.
You will then be able to manage your collection and record whether you have or want this coin.
Crown 1818: Details
CountryUnited Kingdom
CurrencyPound Sterling (pre-decimal)
Coin TypeCrown, St George within Garter
Issued1818
MonarchKing George III
EffigyPortrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head)
ReverseSt George the Dragon-Slayer
Face Value5 (x Shilling)
Total Mintage155,232
CurrentNo; withdrawn 1971
Material0.925 Silver
DesignerBenedetto Pistrucci
TechnologyMilled (machine-made)
ShapeRound
OrientationCoin Alignment (Axis 6)
Size38.6100 mm
Thickness3.0000 mm
Mass28.2759 g
OCC IDQBVY-XEWR-CVJV-OJZN
Search Similar Coins to Buy (Affiliate Ad)
Share or Bookmark this Page
Crown 1818: Photos
ImageDetails
Crown 1818: Photo St George and the Dragon Trial Piece / thumbnail St George and the Dragon Trial Piece
Copyright: Royal Mint
Source
Crown 1818: Photo St George and the Dragon Trial Piece / thumbnail St George and the Dragon Trial Piece
Copyright: Royal Mint
Source
Crown 1818: Photo Great Britain 1818 crown / thumbnail Great Britain 1818 crown
Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA
Author:
Source
Crown 1818: Photo Great Britain 1818 crown / thumbnail Great Britain 1818 crown
Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA
Author:
Source
Crown 1818: Photo Coin - Crown, George III, Great Britain, 1818 / thumbnail Coin - Crown, George III, Great Britain, 1818
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Author:
Source
Crown 1818: Photo Coin - Crown, George III, Great Britain, 1818 / thumbnail Coin - Crown, George III, Great Britain, 1818
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Author:
Source
Crown 1818: Catalogue Reference IDs