1 Shilling - Elizabeth II English shield with 'BRITT:OMN' (1953)

About the 1953 1 Shilling - Elizabeth II English shield – with 'BRITT:OMN'

The 1953 1 Shilling - Elizabeth II English shield – with 'BRITT:OMN' is a circulating 1 shilling coin, struck in copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni). It weighs 5.66g and measures 23.5mm across. Reverse design: Crowned English shield of arms dividing date, legend above, denomination below.

41,942,894 were struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1990), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

Elizabeth II's first shillings were part of the complete new coinage prepared in 1952 and 1953. The Royal Mint records that almost 300 reverse designs from about 70 artists were put before its Advisory Committee, and that new reverses were chosen for both the English and Scottish shillings. As under George VI, Coins of the UK notes that two shillings were struck each year and circulated side by side throughout the country.

The 1953 coins carry BRITT OMN, short for "of all the Britains", in the Queen's title. A proclamation of 28 May 1953 under the Royal Titles Act recast her style to reflect the Commonwealth, and the Royal Mint notes that BRITT OMN was then omitted owing to the changing status of many Commonwealth territories. The 1953 shillings are therefore a one-year type.

Coin Hunter gives 41,942,894 English shillings for circulation and Wikipedia 41,943,800, with 40,000 proofs in both. That is about double the Scottish shilling of the same year.

William Maving Gardner designed and, according to Wikipedia, engraved the reverse, which shows the arms of England, three lions on a shield. Coins of the UK describes them as three "leopards" facing left. Gardner later designed the reverse of the decimal 20p.

The obverse is Mary Gillick's portrait, chosen from 17 entries, showing the Queen with a laurel wreath and part of the shoulders within a continuous legend. Coins of the UK notes that the 1953 coins have a weaker bust than later dates; Wikipedia records that Gillick's master lacked relief and that Cecil Thomas re-cut the dies. The coin is cupro-nickel with a milled edge.

Collecting notes

Three checks identify this coin: the 1953 date, BRITT OMN in the legend, and three lions rather than one on the shield. A single rampant lion makes it the 1953 Scottish shilling.

Because the portrait was struck in low relief, even unworn 1953 coins show soft hair and shoulder detail. Judge wear on the lions of the reverse instead. The 40,000 proofs were made for collectors and are not found in change.

The shilling passed as 5 new pence after 1971. The Royal Mint states it stayed legal tender until 1990, when the smaller 5p replaced the old-size coin, so it can no longer be spent.