Coin of the Day
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About today's coin
The crown had been struck for circulation under George IV in 1821 and 1822, but William IV issued none for everyday use. Tony Clayton records that the only crowns of the reign are proofs dated 1831 or 1834. The 1831 crown was made for the proof sets of that year, and the Krause catalogue, quoted by CoinVarieties, puts the number at 100.
The 1834 crown is far scarcer. Clayton writes that fewer than ten are known, and no mintage is recorded.
The obverse is William Wyon's engraving of the King's bare head facing right, after a bust by Sir Francis Chantrey, with the legend GULIELMUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:. The Royal Mint Museum notes that his William IV portrait was not entirely his own work because it followed Chantrey's bust. The engraver's signature on the truncation appears as W.W. or W. WYON on the 1831 proofs.
The reverse, which the Royal Mint Museum describes as the royal arms within an ermine mantle, has the crowned shield with ANNO and the date below. The Mint's records credit the coin to Wyon and Jean Baptiste Merlen. The Royal Mint Museum's 1831 example weighs 27.86 g and has a plain edge.
Why a daily coin?
Coin collecting is a long game. The MyCoinage Coin of the Day rotates a different British coin every 24 hours, definitives, commemoratives, gold sovereigns, pre-decimal silver, so over a year of visits you'll see hundreds of coins from across the UK numismatic catalogue. It's a small daily habit that compounds: collectors who visit daily learn rare-date specs by osmosis and build a real working knowledge of the market.