1847 Crown – Victoria (Crowned Shield)


The 1847 Crown - Victoria (Crowned Shield)

Young-Head Crown (5 shillings) of Queen Victoria. Regnal date on edge in Roman numerals XI with cinquefoil stops. 0.925 Sterling Silver. SCBC: 3882.

This design was used 1838-1887.

The Gothic Head Crown was also released during 1847.

The Reverse shows an ornate crowned shield.

The Obverse shows a portrait of Queen Victoria by William Wyon. Date on obverse.

Image credit: The Royal Mint


Mintage: 140,970 (may include coins in sets)
Minted at The Royal Mint.
Remember 1847 ?
In UK: Monarch is Queen Victoria. Prime Minister is Lord John Russell (Whig), who wins an August General Election. The House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster opens. Factory Act limits a maximum 10-hour working day for women, and for boys 13–18. The Brontë sisters all publish novels under pen names, like Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights" under the name of Ellis Bell.
In USA: President is James K. Polk (D-Tennessee) and Vice President George M. Dallas (D-Pennsylvania). Samuel Colt sells his first revolver (the Colt Walker) to the the Texas Rangers. The Mexican–American War (1846–1848) continues. Yerba Buena, California is renamed to San Francisco, California. First USA postage stamps issued, featuring George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.
Victoria (1837-1901)
Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India. Victoria ruled for 64 years, a record only recently surpassed by Queen Elizabeth II.
 
Victoria's parents were Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathern, and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She married Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who later became known as Prince Albert. Victoria had nine children, the eldest son succeeding her as Edward VII.


Victoria posed for a number of head portraits, but there are generally three major variants: Young Head (1838-1887) by William Wyon, RA; Jubilee Head (1887-1893) by Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm and Old Head (1893-1901) by by Sir Thomas Brock.

Category: Crowns
The Crown is a very old coin, with origins dating back to Henry VIII. The English Crown first appeared in 1526. It was made of 22 carat gold ("crown gold") and has a value of five shillings (a quarter of a pound).

By 1551, silver was being used to produce crowns, although gold was sometimes still used. The silver crown was quite large, being about 38mm and weighing about one ounce. Around that time many Europeans countries had similar sized silver coins which made them good for international trade as they were essentially interchangeable.

The metal used was 92.5% silver and the rest copper so as to make the coin harder. This hardness, together with a milled edge, made 'clipping' (which was cutting slices off the edge to steal some free silver) more difficult.

After the Union of England and Scotland in 1707 a new coin, the British Crown, replaced the English Crown and Scottish Dollar. The value was set at 5 shillings and the size was 38mm in diameter and weighed about 1oz as before.

Now more of a commemorative coin

Although the coin was always part of the British coin family, its large size made it unpopular for general circulation and the half-crown was favoured as the de-facto largest coin in circulation. The Crown was more-or-less relegated to a commemorative coin.

The British economy, especially after the World Wars, took its toll on the crown too. From 1816-1919 the crown was 0.925 silver, this was reduced to 0.500 silver in 1920 and in 1947 the Crown became Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel). The size standardised at 38.61 mm and (silver crown) weight of 28.276g (1 oz).

Although not in current circulation, the Crown is still legal tender. After decimalisation in 1971 the Crown was officially valued at 25 pence. In the Eighties we had inflation which brought in higher denomination coins like the pound coin and the two-pound coin, so the Government decided that the crown needed to be restored to it former glory as biggest denomination coin and the crown was re-denominated to £5 in 1990.

Today the Crown is once again made in silver and gold, usually to satisfy collectors and investors. There is a little confusion with this as there are Gold Crowns which are worth £5 but there is another five-pound Gold coin from the sovereign family - see the article on Gold £5 Coin or Gold Crown?
Which Mint: The Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the designated place for the UK to mint coins. It dates back well over 1000 years and is a Government-owned company. 

Formed in the reign of Alfred the Great about the year 886, during the period 1279-1812 it was generally referred to as The Tower Mint as it was housed at the Tower of London. The Master of The Royal Mint has included famous figures such as Sir Isaac Newton.

Since 2010 it has operated as Royal Mint Ltd, a company owned by HM Treasury, under an exclusive contract to supply all coinage for the UK although it also produces medals and coins for other countries. It is currently located at Llantrisant, Wales.
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
The United Kingdom (UK) is the Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is often refered to as Great Britain (GBR). It has a long, rich history.

The orignal coinage was Pounds, Shillings and Pence but since decimalisation on 15 February 1971, it is £1 = 100p, that is One Pound = 100 pence. The coinage of the UK is also a long history, the Royal Mint being established as long ago as 886AD when coins were hammered. Today there is perhaps 30 billion coins in circulation, and many (numismatic) collectors coins and sets are issued frequently in gold, silver and other metals.
If you don't see a coin in the list below try the Crowns page on eBay UK
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QUEEN VICTORIA 1847 GOTHIC CROWN SILVER COIN IN BLACK VELVET PRESENTATION BOX
QUEEN VICTORIA 1847 GOTHIC CROWN SILVER COIN IN BLACK VELVET PRESENTATION BOX
£ 16.95
QUEEN VICTORIA 1847 GOTHIC CROWN CHAMPAGNE SILVER COIN IN BLACK VELVET BOX.
QUEEN VICTORIA 1847 GOTHIC CROWN CHAMPAGNE SILVER COIN IN BLACK VELVET BOX.
£ 18.95
1847 QUEEN VICTORIA GOTHIC CROWN BEAUTIFULLY SILVER PLATED COIN 
1847 QUEEN VICTORIA GOTHIC CROWN BEAUTIFULLY SILVER PLATED COIN 
£ 7.95
Enamelled 1847 Queen Victoria Gothic Crown restrike, Beautifully hand crafted
Enamelled 1847 Queen Victoria Gothic Crown restrike, Beautifully hand crafted
£ 29.95
Queen Victoria Crown 1847
Queen Victoria Crown 1847
£ 135.00
1847 Crown.(5/-)   Queen Victoria. Museum Quality RESTRIKE 27.8g
1847 Crown.(5/-) Queen Victoria. Museum Quality RESTRIKE 27.8g
£ 15.00
1847 QUEEN VICTORIA SILVER CROWN COIN XI CINQUEFOIL 0.925 FINE CONDITION QV104
1847 QUEEN VICTORIA SILVER CROWN COIN XI CINQUEFOIL 0.925 FINE CONDITION QV104
£ 175.00
1847 QUEEN VICTORIA YOUNG HEAD XI SILVER CROWN
1847 QUEEN VICTORIA YOUNG HEAD XI SILVER CROWN
£ 69.95

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