102 FEBRUARY 2016 http://www.stampandcoin.co.ukBritish coins
Coins of the
three kings
On 20 January, 1936, King George V died at Sandringham Palace after a long illness. The sad news
saw his son become King Edward VIII, but by the end of that tumultuous year, a third king had
taken the throne. Ed Archer describes some of the notable coins of the ‘year of the three kings’that prompted the post-war
depression, though, compared to
many other countries, Britain came
off fairly lightly.
Many British coin designs had
been revised months before George
V’s passing, thus influencing the
proposed coins for King Edward
VIII. While the penny and halfpenny
designed by Bertram Mackennal
remained the same, crowns were
struck in sterling silver rather than
being debased to .500. The striking
new designs featured a crown
within a wreath on the reverse anda redesigned portrait of George
V on the obverse. The half crown
got a complete makeover with a
royal shield flanked by two royal
monograms; a design that would be
re-employed in 1937 when George
VI issued his first coins.
The florin of George V had
been redesigned too, a distinct
improvement on its predecessor, with
the reverse showing more detail; the
imperial titles were introduced and
the shields in each angle enlarged.
The shilling also had an improved
design with a more assertive andD
espite his dying
so early in the
year, coins were
issued in 1936
for George V. His
reign had seen
the quality of British coinage decline
markedly after 1921. In this year
the silver content in all silver coins
was significantly reduced from .925
to .500 and Britain came off the
gold standard. This was one of the
economic results of the First World
War and the ensuing complicationsAbove, from left:
a 1936 penny with
George V on the
reverse; A George VI
halfcrown; a proposed
Edward VIII florin
Right: the obverse
of a 1936 George V
threepenny bit; and a
1936 George V penny
Below: An Edward VII
money box issued by
Oxo for the coronation
that never wasp102 1936.indd 102 21/12/2015 10:28