Legendary: fewer than 100 minted. Sells often: 216 verified sales in the last 12 months.
5 Shillings - George VI Festival of Britain (1951)
"Festival of Britain crown"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1951 |
| Denomination | 5 Shillings |
| Face value | 25p |
| Mintage | 1,983,540 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni) |
| Weight | 28.280g |
| Diameter | 38.6mm |
| Thickness | 2.90mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: MDCCCLI CIVIUM INDUSTRIA FLORET CIVITAS MCMLI |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Thomas Humphrey Paget |
| Rev. artist | Benedetto Pistrucci |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Uncrowned portrait of King George VI left, legend above, denomination below.
St. George slaying the dragon right, date and
5 Shillings - George VI Festival of Britain market value
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Affiliate5 Shillings - George VI Festival of Britain price history
Daily limit reached5 Shillings - George VI Festival of Britain 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 | £4.55 🔒 eBay | £8.65 | – | £4.30 – £16.15 | 18 | 20 | 10-09-2026 | |
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| BU | £17.51 🔒 eBay | £16.07 (2) | – | £14.63 – £17.51 | 2 | 2 | 02-08-2026 | |
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| EF | £3.51 🔒 eBay | £3.51 (1) | – | £3.51 – £3.51 | 1 | 1 | 13-09-2026 | |
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| VF | £9.99 🔒 eBay | £5.44 | ▲8.8% | £0.99 – £52.84 | 182 | 186 | 16-10-2026 | |
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| aUNC | £8.65 🔒 eBay | £8.65 | – | £6.52 – £8.65 | 7 | 7 | 21-09-2026 | |
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| PR-65 | £7.59 🔒 eBay | £7.59 | – | £7.59 – £9.15 | 6 | 6 | 25-07-2026 | |
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About the 1951 5 Shillings - George VI Festival of Britain
The 1951 5 Shillings - George VI Festival of Britain is a collector 5 shillings coin, struck in copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni). It weighs 28.28g and measures 38.61mm across. Reverse design: St. George slaying the dragon right, date and.
1,983,540 were struck.
Common questions
How much is the 1951 5 Shillings - George VI Festival of Britain worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1951 5 Shillings - George VI Festival of Britain run from £3.51 to £16.07 across 6 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
How many 1951 Festival of Britain crowns were made?
Coin Hunter and Wikipedia give 1,983,540. The Krause catalogue, as quoted by CoinVarieties, gives 2,004,000 plus proofs. Either way it is a common coin, roughly two million struck, and far more plentiful than the 418,699 coronation crowns of 1937.
What does the edge inscription on the 1951 crown mean?
The edge reads MDCCCLI CIVIUM INDUSTRIA FLORET CIVITAS MCMLI, which translates as 1851, by the industry of its people the State flourishes, 1951. It links the Festival of Britain to the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Is the Festival of Britain crown legal tender?
Wikipedia states that crowns struck since 1818 remain legal tender with a face value of 25 pence, which would include the 1951 coin. In practice it was a commemorative piece sold in boxes and never used as everyday change.
Why is the 1951 crown not silver?
Silver had been replaced by cupro-nickel in the British coinage in 1947, so Tony Clayton notes that the 1951 crown became the first cupro-nickel crown. Earlier crowns, including the 1937 coronation crown, were struck in .500 silver.
What is a VIP 1951 crown?
VIP proofs were specially prepared pieces with frosted devices and mirrored fields, struck from acid-etched dies with extra care. Noble Numismatics rates them R4 with an estimated 11 to 20 struck, far scarcer than the standard proof-like crowns sold to the public.
How do I identify the 1951 5 Shillings - George VI Festival of Britain?
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 1951 crown was struck for the Festival of Britain, the national exhibition held that summer to mark the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Wikipedia records that it was presented with a certificate in a red or green box, and the certificate also linked it to the first English silver crown of 1551, four hundred years earlier. Tony Clayton notes that a coining press at the Festival struck crowns in front of visitors, with no mark to tell them from coins struck at the Mint.
Coin Hunter and Wikipedia give a mintage of 1,983,540, nearly five times the 418,699 coronation crowns of 1937. It was the first British crown in cupro-nickel, the alloy that had replaced silver in 1947, and Clayton notes it was the first to carry FIVE SHILLINGS rather than CROWN or no value at all.
The obverse carries Humphrey Paget's bare-headed portrait of George VI facing left, signed HP, with the legend GEORGIVS VI D: G: BR: OMN: REX F: D: and FIVE SHILLINGS below. IND IMP, for Emperor of India, had been dropped from the coinage from 1949 after Indian independence.
The reverse is Benedetto Pistrucci's St George slaying the dragon, best known from the gold sovereign, with no legend, the date 1951 in the exergue and B.P. to its upper right. The edge carries the incuse inscription MDCCCLI CIVIUM INDUSTRIA FLORET CIVITAS MCMLI, translated as 1851, by the industry of its people the State flourishes, 1951.
Varieties and errors
Noble Numismatics describes VIP proofs struck from acid-etched dies with extra care, giving frosted devices against mirrored fields. It rates them R4, with an estimated 11 to 20 made. Ordinary coins are described by Coin Hunter as proof-like rather than true proofs.
Collecting notes
Most surviving crowns are the proof-like boxed issue, which Wikipedia describes as making up most of the roughly two million struck. Sovereign Rarities records that around 20,000 full proof sets of the 1951 coinage, crown included, were also sold. Clayton warns that cardboard in the 1950 and 1951 set cases can start corrosion, so check boxed coins for spots and toning.
The crown has a face value of 25 pence today according to Wikipedia, but it was never used as change. The next crown was the 1953 Coronation crown of Elizabeth II.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- 1951 Coin Values, George VI, Coin Hunter (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Crown (British coin), Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Festival of Britain, Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- UK Coins of George VI, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 10 Oct 2026)
- George VI 1951 Proof Crown, Festival of Britain issue, ex Smith, Sovereign Rarities (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 1951 VIP Crown, George VI (lot 396290), Noble Numismatics (read 10 Oct 2026)
- George VI proof 'Festival of Britain' crown 1951 (RCIN 443696), Royal Collection Trust (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1951 crown, CoinVarieties (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 1937 Coin Values, George VI, Coin Hunter (read 10 Oct 2026)
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