Rare Coin Sold for 1 Million Pounds, Costliest Ever in UK
It was one of six coins prepared by the Royal Mint, when Edward became the king of England in the year 1936 and for general circulation, the coin was due to be mass-produced from January 1, 1937.
A private collector has, recently bought the infrequent sovereign coin minted in the year 1937 with King Edward VIII image on it, for 1 million pounds, making the coin, the most expensive ever.
The coin is regarded as unique and precious because it was one of six coins prepared by the Royal Mint, when Edward became the King of England in the year 1936 and for general circulation, the coin was due to be mass-produced from January 1, 1937.
But King Edward abdicated the throne in December 1936, quitting his job as the king of the country to marry his girlfriend and American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Accordingly, the production of the coin was cancelled and coinage with his face never entered circulation for mass distribution.
The coin also has the influence of Edward VIII, who insisted that the portrait on the coin to show his left side, which he preferred, breaking the age-old tradition of each new monarch facing the opposite direction to his predecessor. The Royal Mint also said that the king wanted to show his parting to break up an otherwise solid fringe of hair.
The precious coin is a sovereign symbol, which is a type of gold coin with a face value of one pound. Though the coin is no longer in circulation it is still accepted as the legal tender in Britain.
The coin is made from 22-carat of pure gold, measuring 22 millimeters in diameter and weighing 7.98 grams. The coin is slightly smaller and lighter than a modern one-pound English coin.
Rebecca Morgan, who heads the collector services for the 1,100-year-old Royal Mint, says, “The Edward VIII Sovereign is one of the rarest and most collectable coins in the world, so it is no surprise that it has set a new record for British coinage”.
Of the six original coins, four are in institutions and museums and two are privately owned.
The existence of the special six coins was not widely known until in the year 1970, they were locked away and declared not to be treated as part of the Royal Mint museum’s collection, because of their relationship with the sensitivity of the issue of King Edward’s abdication.
Later, the Royal Mint has bought this particular coin from a collector in the United States to bring it back to Great Britain for the new buyer, who bought it for 1 million pounds.