LONDON- A rare 1937 Edward VIII sovereign coin was purchased by a private collector for a sum of 1 million pounds, making the coin the most expensive British coin of all time.
This was one of the six coins prepared by the Royal Mint in 1936 when Edward became King and it was supposed to be mass-produced for circulation from January 1st 1937.
However, in December 1936, King Edward abdicated and quit his job as King to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. This meant that production was cancelled and the coin with his face never entered circulation.
On the coin, Edward VIII insisted that his left side be shown on the portrait, breaking the tradition of new monarchs facing a direction opposite from their predecessor.
The Royal Mint said that Edward VIII wanted the coin to break up the otherwise solid fringe of hair to show his parting.
The coin is a sovereign- a gold coin with a one-pound face value. No longer in circulation, the coin is still accepted in Britain as legal tender.
It is made using 22-carat gold and is smaller and lighter than a modern pound coin. It is 22 millimetres in diameter and has a weight of 7.98 grams.
Rebecca Morgan, collector services head for the 1,100-year-old Royal Mint said that the Edward VIII Sovereign is a rare and a collectable coin globally. and it comes as no surprise that it has set a British coinage record.
Four of the six coins are in museums and institutions, while two are privately owned.
Until 1970, their existence was not known widely being locked away or not treated as a Royal Mint museum’s collection due to the sensitivity of the case of Edward’s abdication.
This coin was sourced by the Royal Mint from a collector from the U.S.A. and was brought back to Britain looking for a new buyer.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field