LONDON.- An extremely rare Edward VIII halfcrown that was never issued and is one of only six known to exist and the only one ever to be sold at auction will be offered at Noonans in an auction of British Coins, Tokens and Historical Medals on Tuesday & Wednesday, September 19-20, 2023. It is being sold by a private collector and expected to fetch £150,000-200,000.

As Tim Wilkes, Head of the Coin Department at Noonans explained: “Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 before any coins in his name were released into circulation in Britain. 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.”

This particular example is one of only two that are believed to be in private hands – this was originally sold at auction in the USA in 1978. The other four are in the Royal Collection, British Museum and two are in the Royal Mint Collection.

This halfcrown was designed by British designers T.H. Paget & G. Kruger Gray and inscribed EDWARDVS VIII D : G : BR : OMN : REX, while on the reverse, the Royal Standard is flanked by two crowned monograms, FID : DEF : IND : IMP.