Uncommon: fewer than 10,000,000 minted. Sells often: 164 verified sales in the last 12 months.
5 Shillings - Elizabeth II Coronation (1953)
"Coronation crown"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1953 |
| Denomination | 5 Shillings |
| Face value | 25p |
| Mintage | 5,962,621 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Series | Coronation Commemoratives |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Composition | Copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni) |
| Weight | 28.280g |
| Diameter | 38.6mm |
| Thickness | 3.00mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: FAITH AND TRUTH I WILL BEAR UNTO YOU |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Gilbert Ledward |
| Rev. artist | Edgar Fuller (designer) and Cecil Thomas (modeller) |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
| Tags | commemorative |
A portrait of Queen Elizabeth II mounted on her horse Winston, dressed in her uniform as Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards and as worn by The Queen during the ceremony of Trooping the Colour.
ELIZABETH • II • DEI • GRATIA • BRITT OMN • REGINA • FIDEI • DEFENSOR / FIVE SHILLINGS
The four quarterings of the Royal Arms each contained in a shield and arranged in saltire with, in the intervening spaces, a rose, a thistle, a sprig of shamrock and a leek; in the centre the Crown and in the base the date.
19 53 EF CT
5 Shillings - Elizabeth II Coronation market value
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Daily limit reached5 Shillings - Elizabeth II Coronation 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNC | £3.31 🔒 eBay | £5.45 | – | £0.99 – £15.48 | 15 | 19 | 13-10-2026 | |
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| BU | £8.95 🔒 eBay | £8.95 (1) | – | £8.95 – £8.95 | 1 | 1 | 12-06-2026 | |
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| EF | £6.96 🔒 eBay | £4.06 | – | £0.92 – £6.96 | 5 | 5 | 08-09-2026 | |
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| VF | £11.74 🔒 eBay | £2.91 | ▼3% | £0.73 – £36.37 | 135 | 140 | 15-10-2026 | |
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| MS-64 | £8.27 🔒 eBay | £81.34 | – | £8.27 – £88.67 | 4 | 4 | 15-08-2026 | |
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| MS-65 | £88.67 🔒 eBay | £88.67 (1) | – | £88.67 – £88.67 | 1 | 1 | 13-02-2026 | |
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| PR-65 | £22.07 🔒 eBay | £22.07 | – | £4.30 – £490.00 | 3 | 4 | 28-08-2026 | |
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About the 1953 5 Shillings - Elizabeth II Coronation
The 1953 5 Shillings - Elizabeth II Coronation is a circulating 5 shillings coin in the Coronation Commemoratives series, struck in copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni). It weighs 28.28g and measures 38.61mm across. Reverse design: The four quarterings of the Royal Arms each contained in a shield and arranged in saltire with, in the intervening spaces, a rose, a thistle, a sprig of shamrock and a leek; in the centre the Crown and in the base the date.
5,962,621 were struck.
Common questions
How much is the 1953 5 Shillings - Elizabeth II Coronation worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1953 5 Shillings - Elizabeth II Coronation run from £2.91 to £88.67 across 7 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
How many 1953 Coronation crowns were made?
Wikipedia's table of modern crowns gives 5,962,621 cupro-nickel Coronation crowns. About 40,000 more were struck as part of the 1953 proof set, which the Royal Mint Museum says was the only proof set of the year and included the crown.
Is the 1953 Coronation crown rare?
No. Almost six million were struck, nearly six times the 1,024,038 of the 1960 crown, though about a third of the 19,640,000 Churchill crowns of 1965. Of the three pre-decimal crowns of the reign it sits in the middle.
Who is the rider on the 1953 crown?
It is the Queen, in the uniform of Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards, on the police horse Winston. Gilbert Ledward modelled it. The Royal Mint Museum records that a Wren, Jean Emerson, sat for him on Winston to get the side-saddle pose right.
Is the 1953 crown still legal tender?
Yes, in principle. The Royal Mint says crowns struck before 1990, back to 1818, remain legal tender at 25p. It adds that crowns are made for special occasions, and most banks and shops will refuse them. The Post Office has agreed to take them.
What does the edge of the 1953 crown say?
The edge reads FAITH AND TRUTH I WILL BEAR UNTO YOU in incuse letters. The Royal Mint says the words come from the pledge of allegiance the Duke of Edinburgh made to the Queen during the coronation ceremony.
How do I identify the 1953 5 Shillings - Elizabeth II Coronation?
Check the weight 28.28g and diameter 38.61mm and the metal (copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni)) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
The Coronation crown was struck to mark the crowning of Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. A proclamation of 25 November 1952 had set out a conventional crown with the Queen's head, but a second proclamation, signed on 11 February 1953 and in force two days later, replaced it for 1953 with a commemorative design struck at the Royal Mint in London.
Wikipedia's crown table, citing the Standard Catalogue, gives 5,962,621 struck in cupro-nickel. That is close to six times the 1,024,038 crowns of 1960 and under a third of the 19,640,000 Churchill crowns of 1965. The Royal Mint Museum adds that some 40,000 proof sets, the only proof set of 1953, were produced between September and December, each including the crown.
The obverse, by the sculptor Gilbert Ledward, shows the Queen riding side-saddle in the uniform of Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards on the police horse Winston, which she had ridden at Trooping the Colour. The Royal Mint Museum records that Ledward had only one sitting with the Queen, so a 28-year-old Wren, Jean Emerson, posed on Winston to fix the posture. A crowned royal cypher stands either side, and FIVE SHILLINGS sits between two roses below.
The legend is ELIZABETH • II • DEI • GRATIA • BRITT OMN • REGINA • FIDEI • DEFENSOR. A proclamation of October 1953 removed BRITT OMN from the coinage from 1 January 1954, so no later crown carries it.
The reverse, designed by the herald painter Edgar Fuller and modelled by Cecil Thomas, sets the four quarterings of the Royal Arms in shields arranged in saltire, with a rose, thistle, shamrock and leek between them and the Crown at the centre. The edge reads FAITH AND TRUTH I WILL BEAR UNTO YOU, words the Royal Mint traces to the Duke of Edinburgh's pledge of allegiance at the coronation.
Varieties and errors
The Royal Mint Museum describes a pattern with a more ornate reverse that was judged too crowded on a trial coin and simplified before approval. No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for the issued coin.
Collecting notes
With almost six million made, the circulation strike is plentiful. Check the horse and rider and the shields for contact marks, and read the edge lettering, which wears and can hide damage.
Proofs come from the 1953 proof set and show mirror fields. The uncirculated nine-coin set of 1953 ran from halfcrown to farthing and did not include the crown.
The Royal Mint says crowns struck before 1990 remain legal tender at 25p, but most banks and shops will refuse them. See the 1960 crown, which reuses this reverse.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- New coins for a new monarch, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
- The London Gazette, issue 39777, page 891 (proclamation of 11 February 1953), The Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 1953 Elizabeth II Commemorative Crown, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Crown (British coin), Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- How can I dispose of commemorative crowns?, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- The Edinburgh Gazette, issue 17023 (proclamation of 25 November 1952), The Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- The Belfast Gazette, issue 1685, page 237 (proclamation of 4 October 1953), The Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
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