PREVIEW: COINS AND HISTORICAL MEDALS: 26 MAY

The trauma of Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936 was not simply a shock for the nation; it led to innumerable unintended consequences, one of which is being offered in this auction with an estimate of £200,000-300,000.

The object in question is an extremely rare Edward VIII halfcrown – only six are known to exist, and this is the first ever offered at auction in the UK, where it is being sold on behalf of a private collector.

“Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 before any coins in his name were released into circulation in Britain,” explained Bradley Hopper, Head of the Coin Department at Noonans. “Patterns of each denomination had been prepared (all dated 1937) but at the time of the abdication they had not yet received royal approval. After the abdication the few coins which had been struck were locked away, and work began on the coinage of the new king, George VI. It is not known how the coins in private hands came to be in the public domain so opportunities to acquire any of these coins are very rare and we expect this coin to be keenly contested.”

The Royal Mint’s records from 1935-1936 suggest that over 200 dies for coins, medals, and seals had already been prepared so that it could begin striking Edward VIII’s coinage on 1 January 1937. Following the abdication, many of these were destroyed.

“Before this a small number of Patterns had been struck, six sets in total each comprising Five Pounds to Farthing,” Bradley Hopper said. “Of these, five are complete with three belonging to the Royal Mint Collection (one of which is on permanent loan to the British Museum), another is to be found in the Royal Collection, while the final complete set is to be found within the famed Tyrant Collection. It seems most improbable that any of these will come to market in the foreseeable future.”

The current specimen forms part of the final, sixth set and is one of only two that are believed to be in private hands – this was originally sold at auction in the USA in 1978 and has remained in the same collection for the past 40 years. Several of its siblings have appeared at auction in recent years. The Five Pounds sold for $1.9m in 2021, while the Crown made $300,000 back in January 2020. The Shilling was on offer in November 2025 and made 160,000 CHF (equivalent to about £150,000).

“The present coin is not only a great rarity, but also of numismatic note,” said Bradley Hopper. “The effigy with the king makes a conspicuous break with almost 300 years of tradition. From the time of Charles II monarchs arranged their portraits so that they faced in the opposite direction to their immediate predecessor. Edward’s father, George V, had a left facing effigy, and so Edward’s should have faced to the right on his coinage. However, when the king sat for the engraver Humphrey Paget on the 28th April 1936, he presented the left side of his head, so that his fashionable side parting might be depicted. A remarkable choice, which serves as a tangible reminder of Edward’s extraordinary reign, perhaps the most infamous of any British Monarch. The reverse is equally remarkable, presenting a square royal standard; a device not seen on any other British coin.”