Royal Wedding Crown, 1981, Coin from United Kingdom

Coin	Royal Wedding Crown, 1981

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.

Mint	Royal Mint	Mint Mark	No mint mark	Total Mintage	26,773,600 (26.8 million)
			Visit the Royal Mint web site for the latest coin releases (affiliate ad)

Obverse

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.

Obverse Inscription	ELIZABETH II D · G · REG · F · D ·

Reverse

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.

Reverse Inscription	H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES AND LADY DIANA SPENCER · 1981·

Edge	Milled	Edge Inscription	None

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".

Royal Wedding Crown, 1981: Known varieties

Variety	Specimen in presentation folder
Mintage	Issued: unknown
Variety	Silver Proof FDC
Images
Mintage	Issued: 218,142
Material	0.925 Silver
Details	28.28 g., Sterling Silver, 0.8409 oz. ASW, 38.61 mm.
In Sets	United Kingdom Two-Coin Commemorative Set 1981, mintage 2,500 2 coins: Sovereign, Royal Wedding Crown - Silver Proof The United Kingdom Proof Coin Collection 1981, mintage unknown 9 coins: Five Sovereigns, Full Sovereign, Royal Wedding Crown - Silver Proof, Fifty New Pence, Ten New Pence, Five New Pence, Two New Pence, One New Penny, Half New Penny

Royal Wedding Crown, 1981: References to Information Used

Source	Edition	About	Link	Notes
Royal Mint		Mintage	link
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom		Mintage		Silver Proof mintage

All (4) coins of type: Crown (25 Pence)

Coin Name	Mintage	Effigy	Legend
Silver Wedding Crown, 1972	7,602,100	Queen Elizabeth II - Second Portrait	ELIZABETH II D · G · REG · F · D ·
Silver Jubilee Crown, 1977	37,254,960	Equestrian Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II	ELIZABETH · II DG · REG FD 1977
Queen Mother 80th Birthday Crown, 1980	9,306,000	Queen Elizabeth II - Second Portrait	ELIZABETH II D · G · REG · F · D ·
Royal Wedding Crown, 1981	26,773,600	Queen Elizabeth II - Second Portrait	ELIZABETH II D · G · REG · F · D ·

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Royal Wedding Crown, 1981: Details

Country	United Kingdom
Currency	Pound Sterling
Coin Type	Crown (25 Pence)
Issued	1981
Monarch	Queen Elizabeth II
Effigy	Queen Elizabeth II - Second Portrait, by Arnold Machin
Face Value	25 (x Pound)
Circulation Mintage	26,773,600 (26.8 million)
Total Mintage	26,773,600 (26.8 million)
Current	Yes
Material	CuproNickel
Designer	Philip Nathan
Technology	Milled (machine-made)
Shape	Round
Orientation	Medal Alignment (Axis 0)
Size	38.6100 mm
Thickness	2.5000 mm
Mass	28.2800 g
OCC ID	XGAV-POXA-CYMW-EMDY

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Royal Wedding Crown, 1981: Photos

Image	Details
	Coin, Great Britain, 25 New Pence 1981 Copyright: NumisCorner.com Source
	Coin, Great Britain, 25 New Pence 1981 Copyright: NumisCorner.com Source
	Coin, Great Britain, 25 New Pence 1981, Proof, Silver Copyright: NumisCorner.com Source
	Coin, Great Britain, 25 New Pence 1981, Proof, Silver Copyright: NumisCorner.com Source

Royal Wedding Crown, 1981: Catalogue Reference IDs

Source	Reference ID
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom	LL4 (was 4229)
Krause, Standard Catalog of World Coins	Great Britain KM# 925, KM# 925a (Silver)

Royal Wedding Crown, 1981, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information