The Prince Of Wales And Lady Diana Spencer Commemorative crown coin from 1981

Product Information

The coins were issued for commemorative purposes and were not intended for circulation, although they remain legal tender and must be accepted at Post Offices. [1] The coins weigh 28.28g (0.909ozt) and have a diameter of 38.61mm. Reverse: A portrait of the Queen Mother surrounded by a radiating pattern of bows and lions, a pun on her maiden name Bowes-Lyon. The inscription reads: QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER AUGUST 4th 1980. The reverse was designed by Professor Richard Guyatt. Originally used primarily as a form of currency, it eventually became more well known for commemorating events and as such became more collectable. Although still technically legal tender to this day, it does not make much sense to use them in shops as they are worth much more to collectors. Prince Charles is the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II, first in line to the throne and potentially the next King of England and the Commonwealth. Nuptials between Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer took place on 29th July 1981 (which was named a national holiday in celebration) in front of a worldwide TV audience of 750 million people. It was labelled a fairytale wedding as Diana was the first British commoner to marry an heir to the throne since the 1500’s. The couple were dominant public figures constantly under scrutiny from royal watchers. They later had 2 children, 2nd in line to the throne Prince William and 3rd in line Prince Harry.

Stuart Leslie Devlin, AO, CMG is a significant contemporary gold and silversmith. Australian-born, he has designed coins for countries around the world, and became especially well known as London-based designer of gold and silver collector's items in the 1970s and 80s. The next major issue was that which commemorated the passing of the great politician and Prime Minister Winston Churchill; a staggering total of almost 20million crowns were minted with his image in 1965. The 1981 Wedding Coin As with many important events and occasions, the Royal Mint issued a commemorative coin to mark the wedding, in the form of a crown – the usual denomination. In fact, they also issued a special commemorative two-coin proof set, but let’s deal with the standard issue example first. What is a crown, and why is it used for commemorative coins? What is a Crown?The Royal Wedding Crown coin was issued to commemorate the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. The obverse of the coin has the portrait of Charles and Lady Di. On the reverse side is a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

A table highlighting the difference in specification between the regular and silver versions 1991 Anniversary Charles And Diana Gold Coin Obverse: The standard portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin with the inscription D·G·REG·F·D· ELIZABETH II.

Important Notice

Gold investment products are VAT free. Silver investment products are inclusive of VAT at the current rate unless otherwise stated. In 1981 H.R.H Prince Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, married Lady Diana Frances Spencer making her the Princess of Wales. The engagement and marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton gave us a taste of both Royal fever and the frantic efforts of minting authorities around the world to release collector coins celebrating both events. Circumstances were little different in 1980 and 1981 with many different coins being released world wide to celebrate the engagement and marriage of Charles and Diana. The Royal Australian Mint did not look like joining the party and Aussie collectors had almost resigned themselves to collecting British and other world issues celebrating the Royal marriage. Due to industrial issues at the Royal Australian Mint affecting production of coins the RAM announced that to celebrate the royal marriage of Charles and Dianna the Royal Mint in Wales was to strike a commemorative 50c coin to circulate in Australia. The coin was not included in the 1981 UNC or Proof Sets. If you want to learn more about the coin, including the much rarer silver proof version, then keep reading. What Is A Crown Coin?

Figure 1: the unimpaired 1981 50c commemorating the marriage of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.However, on Sunday May 31st 1981 the then Treasurer, John Howard announced that a 50c coin would be minted to commemorate the Royal Wedding. Problems due to an on-going industrial dispute being experienced by the Royal Australian Mint at the time meant the coin would be minted in the United Kingdom or Canada. The new coin would bear jugate portraits of Charles and Diana on the reverse designed and sculpted by that doyen of Australian decimal coin design, Stuart Devlin. Reverse: A profile portrait of Lady Diana Spencer partially covered by a profile portrait of The Prince of Wales, both facing to the left, with the inscription H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES AND LADY DIANA SPENCER 1981. This face was designed by Philip Nathan.