Collectable Coins and Banknotes 1 Highlights

The first collectable coins and banknotes sale of 2025 provided a record hammer total for an individual sale.

The Auction included single-owner collections of gold and silver coins, with one of the highlights being an 1821 George IV Silver Crown selling for £560. The condition of this coin was close to Extremely Fine (EF), and you could easily see the sword holder on George riding the Dragon.

The first silver crown, with a face value of five shillings, was minted during King Edward VI’s reign and introduced around 1551. Crown coins continued to be minted in both silver and gold during the reigns of Elizabeth I, James I, and Charles I. The silver crowns were made using sterling silver, a hard-wearing and durable alloy. They were 92.5% sterling because that had been the purity of England’s silver coinage for hundreds of years.

After the Restoration of the Monarchy, King Charles II began a vast reform of the coinage to instil confidence. This included producing coins using modern milling machines. The coins were far superior to the hammered ones until that point. The use of these new machines also meant the edges of the coins could be ‘decorated’ – usually with the ridges and lines we still use today – this was a valuable tool in the fight against ‘clipping’ (a practice of clipping the edge of coins to make new ones, without drastically changing the shape) used by counterfeiters. After the reign of King Charles II, the crown was minted only in silver.

Silver coins are proving very popular with collectors. Condition is still very important, but rare dates in poor condition still have good worth. Please get in touch if you have a collection or individual coin to sell.