| Coin | Royal Wedding Crown, 1981 |
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This crown coin was issued to celebrate the Royal Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales (son and heir apparent to Queen Elizabeth II) and Lady Diana Spencer on 29 July 1981.
At the time of decimalisation in 1971, the United Kingdom Crown coin (equal to 5 shillings) was redenominated as a 25p coin and pieces struck prior to 1990 - all the way back to 1818 - continue to be legal tender for that amount. The old denomination had been a regular circulating coin in the 19th century, but in the 20th century it became more of a commemorative denomination.
The Royal Mint continued issuing commemorative coins in the same format - using the traditional coin dimensions, but in copper-nickel just as the last pre-decimal crowns had been, also denominated as 25 pence.
Although not circulating, these coins are legal tender for 25 pence, but contrary to popular belief this does not mean that banks and retailers automatically have to accept them. In the United Kingdom, they are accepted by Royal Mail post offices. |
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| Obverse | |
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Crowned and draped young bust of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (effigy known as the "Second Portrait", by Arnold Machin).
The Queen wears the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Queen Mary (Her Majesty's grandmother) in 1947 - which she also has on the Rank-Broadley and the Gottwald portraits.
Around, the monarch's legend: ELIZABETH II D · G · REG · F · D ·. Translated from Latin: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith.
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| Reverse | |
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The reverse of the coin features within a beaded circle the conjoined (in numismatic terms: jugate, that is - one partially covered by the other) profile portraits of Charles, Prince of Wales and of Lady Diana Spencer, both facing to the left.
All around, the inscription H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES AND LADY DIANA SPENCER (H.R.H stands for His Royal Highness). Below, the date · 1981 ·.
At the neck truncation of Prince Charles' portrait, the small letters PN represent the initials of the designer, Philip Nathan. |
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| Reverse Inscription |
H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES AND LADY DIANA SPENCER · 1981· |
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| Edge | Milled | Edge Inscription | None |
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| Notes | Mintage figure of 26,773,600 circulation grade coins probably includes those released in a presentation folder).
Due to the official face value (which is not shown anywhere on the coin), some catalogues list it as "25 New Pence". |
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