The 1972 crown was the first British coin to have a face value of 25 pence. Previous crowns had been Five Shillings face value.

The absence of an inscription denoting the face value now causes some confusion, particularly because, as from 1990, it appears to have been decided that future crowns would assume a Five Pounds face value.

We are frequently asked why the 1972 crown, and others do not carry a mark of value. It may be more relevant to ask why it is necessary for most modern coins to carry a statement of their value. In bygone times, most people knew what coins were worth, they did not need to rely on an inscription on the coin to inform them. This would be an interesting subject for further study.

From the introduction of the first crown in 1544, crowns did not carry a mark of value. Only briefly did crowns ever carry such a mark, the occasions being as follows, very rare Charles I Scarborough siege coinage, Commonwealth (1649 - 1660) crowns, and Charles II second issue hammered gold crowns. The value mark on all these was a letter "V", the Roman numeral for 5.

Apart from these, the first time that crowns bore a denomination was from 1927, when the word "CROWN" appeared on them.

On the three crowns issued between 1951 and 1960, the value "Five Shillings" appeared, but this was again omitted from the Churchill Commemorative crown of 1965.

Because Britain had only just completed decimalisation in 1971, it may have been sensible, with hindsight, to have shown the new decimal equivalent - 25 New Pence - on this and subsequent crown issues.

The omission may have been partly historic, for reasons given above, or it may have been partly because crowns had not been part of the regular British coinage since about 1914, and the main purpose of the 1972 issue was as a commemorative piece, which was never primarily intended to circulate.

Obverse

The second (decimal) portrait of the Queen facing right, designed by Arnold Machin.
D G REG F D ELIZABETH II

Reverse

The crowned letters EP within a floral garland, the naked figure of Eros at the centre, designed also by Arnold Machin.
ELIZABETH AND PHILIP
20 NOVEMBER 1947 - 1972

Specification

Version	Diameter	Weight	Alloy	AMW	Issue
Uncirculated	38.61	28.28	Cupro-nickel		7,452,000
Silver Proof	38.61	28.28	0.925 Silver	0.8410	100,000

2024 Christmas Opening Hours and Despatch Dates

General

Tuesday 24th December 2024 - Phone lines 9:30 - 14:00 (Last showroom appointment 12:00pm - Collections Only).
Wednesday 25th December 2024 - Wednesday 1st January 2025 - Closed (Urgent enquiries will still be answered during this time).
Thursday 2nd January 2025 - Normal Business Hours.
All orders placed between Friday 20th December 2024 and Wednesday 1st January 2025 will be despatched between 2nd - 5th January 2025.

Hatton Garden

Closed 20th December 2024 - 5th January 2025 inclusive.

Christmas Despatch 2024

Last despatch date for UKSTANDARD orders in time for Christmas – Monday 16th December.
Last despatch date for UKSPECIAL orders over £5,000 in time for Christmas – Thursday 19th December.
Last despatch date for UKSPECIAL orders below £5,000 in time for Christmas & UKSTANDARDS orders not in time for Christmas – Friday 20th December.

Internationals

Last despatch date for international orders in time for Christmas – Monday 2nd December.
Last despatch date for all internationals – Monday 16th December.

Distance Buy-Ins

Distance Buy Ins (DBI) – Last despatch date for DBI packaging – Packaging shipped out Monday 16th to arrive with customer Tuesday 17th to be collected by DPD Wednesday 18th to arrive with us Thursday 19th.

New Year

First despatch date in the New Year – Thursday 2nd January 2025.

Delivery Information

We aim to dispatch orders within 48 hours of receiving cleared funds. Our standard delivery methods are as follows.

Orders over £60 - Fully Insured Delivery.

Within the UK and BFPO - Next day fully insured and tracked. Delivery starts from £6.

Orders under £60

Within the UK and BFPO - Royal Mail 2nd Class. Your order will normally arrive within 2-3 working days. Delivery starts from £3.50.

If you wish to have your order sent by an alternative method (e.g., Saturday Guaranteed) please contact +441253343081 for more information. Please note, we will not dispatch high value orders over a bank holiday weekend.

For international delivery, please check with your local customs office for more information on custom duty and taxes.

Full delivery information can be found by clicking here.

Postal Insurance

We offer fully insured delivery on all special delivery options. We do need to pass on the cost of this insurance as it soon adds up shipping high value gold and silver products.

Orders under £1500 there is no additional fee.
Orders over £1500 we charge a fee in order to cover the increasing costs of insurance. For every £1500 we apply a £1 fee.

If you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to call the showroom on +441253343081 and one of our team can discuss your purchase.

Terms of Sale - Key Points

You can find more information on payment and identification requirements.

Bullion coins are provided as is and on occasion may have some minor scratches or edge knocks. These are not regarded as faulty or damaged goods as their precious metal content and value as a bullion coin is not affected. Any coin sold for a value less than a 180% intrinsic is considered a bullion coin.

Gold investment products are VAT free. Silver investment products are inclusive of VAT at the current rate unless otherwise stated.

All investment products are based on the live precious metal price. Prices will be fixed once the item has been added to the basket and recalculates just before checking out.

If your product is not a graded coin and is considered a bullion item, it should be noted that these are bought and sold on low premiums over their precious metal content and not solely for aesthetic purposes; therefore, some products may have edge knocks and/or marks. These edge knocks and marks do not alter the specifications of the coins.

Please note that all investment products are exempt from the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and therefore customers do not have the right to cancel their order once the order has been accepted. If customers no longer wish to go ahead with their investment purchase, there is an option to sell the products back to Chard (1964) Ltd instead. View our current buy back prices.

View our full Terms & Conditions.

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