Stamp_amp_amp_Coin_Mart_-_February_2016__

http://www.stampandcoin.co.uk FEBRUARY 2016 103

larger lion on the reverse. The sixpence

and threepence shared the same

design on the reverse, of acorns and

branches, and for the first time the

word ‘threepence’ was written on coins

of that value– a major departure from

tradition. The farthing also got an

important makeover as a result of the

disappearance of the half sovereign; the

previous dark matte finish replaced by

a bright finish in 1926.

Perhaps the most amazing coin of

George V’s final year was the Jubilee

Crown; almost three quarters of a

million were struck in sterling silver to

mark the King’s Silver Jubilee. The coin

features an Art Deco rendering of St

George and the Dragon reflecting the

design trends of the time.

Edward VIII coins

King Edward VIII succeeded his

father but famously lasted less than

a year; forced to abdicate the throne

thanks to his relationship with the

American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

He took the title ‘Duke of Windsor’

and went to Paris where he spent

most of the rest of his life apart from

the war years, when he was Governor

of Bermuda.

Despite his limited time on the

throne, a number of designs for a

complete set of coins were produced

for Edward VIII. The coins reflected

a theme of defiance with the young

king shown facing the same way as his

father; normal protocol was for the

monarch’s profile to face the opposite

way from that of their predecessor, a

custom which curiously dates back to

the days of the Roman Empire.

Convention was, however,

followed in the design of the £5

gold piece. The early 19th-century

depiction of St George slaying the

Dragon was approved but never

got to the production stage. The

proposed crown was similarly

attractive; on the reverse was a shield

flanked by a lion and a unicorn,

the obverse showed the Humphrey

Paget king’s head. The half crown

was completely radical in having the

royal ensign flanked by monograms

on the reverse. This design was done

by Kruger Gray who had worked on

the coinage of George V.

The florin was also designed

by Kruger Gray with a crown

surmounting a rose flanked by a

shamrock and a thistle; a design that

was to be adopted by King George

VI. It was also innovative in that it

had the words ‘two shillings’ instead

of ‘florin’ on the reverse.

The Scottish shilling was another

innovation that was to be taken

forward by George VI. It showed the

lion of Scotland holding a sword and

a sceptre surmounting a crown. It is

flanked by two shields, one with the

cross of St Andrews and the other

containing a thistle.

The designs of the sixpence

and three pence which showed

interlocking rings, meant to represent

loyalty and trust in marriage, were

ultimately rejected. This would not

have gone down too well with many

of the public in 1936 who looked

down very much on a monarch

marrying a divorcee.

Did Edward VIII actually have any

coins struck for circulation? He did;

coins were struck for British West and

East Africa, Fiji and New Guinea.

However, none of these shows his

portrait. The only place one can

see his portrait is on the set of four

stamps which were issued in Great

Britain. But that’s another story.

THE COINS OF 1936

Coins of George VI

The two designs of a brass

threepenny bit, showing the thrift

plant, were much admired and the

design without the border was to

be adopted by George VI after the

silver threepenny was gradually faded

out of service in the Second World

War. Two other innovations were

to survive; the first of these was the

ship halfpenny which replaced the

old style halfpenny, a junior version

of the penny featuring an image of

Britannia. Last of all there was the

farthing, appropriately depicting

the wren – one of smallest birds in

Britain on the nation’s smallest coin.

The influence of

EVIII on QEII coins

The early coins of Queen Elizabeth

copied some of the designs for

Edward VIII; these were the brass

threepenny, sometimes referred to

as the wooden threepenny; the ship

halfpenny and the wren farthing.

This proves that the work of Edward

VIII’s design team was not wasted.

The threepenny and halfpenny

remained in general circulation until

1967. Then in 1970 a special pack
      of non-decimal coins was issued for
      collectors prior to the change to
      decimal in 1971.

Above, from top: both

sides of a proposed

Edward VIII three

pence coin; an Edward

VII proof sovereign

Left: a George VI

half crown of 1937

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