Rarely sells: 1 verified sales in the last 12 months.
1 Crown - William IV Pattern (1831)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1831 |
| Denomination | 1 Crown |
| Face value | 25p |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Gold |
| Shape | Round |
| Obv. artist | William Wyon, after a bust by Francis Chantrey |
| Rev. artist | Jean Baptiste Merlen |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Uncrowned portrait of King William IV right, legend around.
GULIELMUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Shield with crowned mantle, date below.
1 Crown - William IV Pattern market value
Find this on eBay
Affiliate1 Crown - William IV Pattern price history
Daily limit reached1 Crown - William IV Pattern value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VF | £30,195.52 🔒 | £18,097.76 (2) | – | £6,000.00 – £30,195.52 | 1 | 2 | 06-09-2026 | |
|
Loading…
|
||||||||
| PR-65 | £39,000.00 🔒 | £39,000.00 (1) | – | £39,000.00 – £287,928.00 | 0 | 2 | 30-09-2025 | |
|
Loading…
|
||||||||
About the 1831 1 Crown - William IV Pattern
The 1831 1 Crown - William IV Pattern is a collector 1 crown coin, struck in gold. Reverse design: Shield with crowned mantle, date below.
Common questions
How much is the 1831 1 Crown - William IV Pattern worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1831 1 Crown - William IV Pattern run from £18,098 to £39,000 across 2 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
What is the 1831 gold crown?
It is the William IV crown of 1831 struck in gold instead of silver, an off-metal proof pattern. No crowns were struck for circulation in 1831; the silver pieces were proofs for the year's proof set. Wilson and Rasmussen, as quoted by Stack's Bowers, estimate 6 to 10 gold examples are known.
Is the 1831 gold crown a five pound coin?
No. It has often been described as a five pound piece, but it is struck from the crown dies, and no five pound coins were struck under William IV. Wikipedia records that Wyon sketched a five pound piece in 1833 but the project went no further.
Who designed the William IV crown?
William Wyon engraved the bare head of the king from a bust by Francis Chantrey, and Jean Baptiste Merlen designed the reverse: the royal arms within the Garter collar, set on a crowned ermine mantle, with ANNO 1831 below. The same mantled arms appear on the half crown and double sovereign.
History and design
William IV's crown was never a currency coin. Clayton says the only crowns of the reign are proofs dated 1831 or 1834, the 1831 being included in that year's proof set, and Wikipedia's account of the coinage says the crown was issued merely for collectors. Wikipedia also records that a die for the crown, and probably an impression from it, were shown to the king, who liked the portrait so much that he ordered no other be used during his reign.
This piece is the 1831 crown struck in gold instead of silver. A Stack's Bowers description, reproduced in The E-Sylum in 2013, calls it a pattern, notes that all 1831 gold coins are proofs, and gives the Wilson and Rasmussen estimate of 6 to 10 known. It adds that the gold striking has often been described as a five pound piece, although no five pound coins were struck under William IV.
The obverse is William Wyon's bare head of the king facing right, after a bust by Francis Chantrey, with GULIELMUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D: (William IV, by the grace of God King of the Britains, Defender of the Faith). Coin Hunter records two signatures on the silver proofs, W.W. or W. WYON on the truncation.
Jean Baptiste Merlen's reverse shows the royal arms within the collar of the Garter, with the George hanging from it, set on a crowned ermine mantle, and ANNO 1831 below. The same mantled arms appear on the half crown and the double sovereign of the reign. Wikipedia notes that Wyon may have chosen the full arms for the crown because a would-be benefactor promised to remember him in his will if the Mint issued such a crown in 1831.
Collecting notes
The gold crown is catalogued as Seaby 3833, Friedberg 381, Wilson and Rasmussen 270 and KM PnA98, according to Stack's Bowers. Check that a piece offered is gold and a proof, then compare the signature on the truncation and the reverse detail with the 1831 silver proof crown, which the Royal Mint Museum records with a plain edge and a weight of 27.86 g.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- An 1831 British pattern crown in gold (The E-Sylum, vol. 16 no. 22, article 18), Numismatic Bibliomania Society, quoting Stack's Bowers (read 12 Oct 2026)
- William IV's British coinage, Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- William IV proof crown, 1831 (RMM 93), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Five Shillings: The Crown, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 12 Oct 2026)
- 1831 Coin Values, William IV, Coin Hunter (read 12 Oct 2026)
More 1 Crown coins from nearby years
