NEW BOOK: BRITISH CORONATION MEDALS

An article titled "The History of Coronations in the United Kingdom" on the website of the Royal Mint informs readers that "For the various monarchs who have reigned through out British history, their coronations, adorned with pomp and pageantry, have marked the culmination of their individual journeys to the throne. A symbolic occasion signaling the official crowning of a new king or queen, coronations have been a fundamental part of the British monarchy for more than a thousand years." And, for a period spanning more than three hundred years, medals were an integral part of these historic events.

The practice of distributing medals at British coronations originated in 1603 with the coronation of James I. A rare medal was issued in 1547 for the coronation of Edward VI, and while neither its purpose nor its manufacturer has been unquestionably established, its 60mm size would have precluded its distribution at the coronation ceremony. Therefore, it is not included here as part of the series of official medals.

The last ceremony for which an official medal was struck was the 1937 coronation of George VI. Numerous medals have been produced for more recent coronations, but they were struck by private mints for various reasons. Therefore they are not considered part of the series of medals cataloged herein.

 

The earliest medals were between 28 mm and 32 mm in diameter, but by the 1685 coronation the size had increased to between 33 mm and 35 mm. For the three twentieth century coronations, medals were struck in two sizes; approximately 31 mm and 56 mm (or 51 mm in the case of the large 1911 George V medal). Nearly all of the official coronation medals were struck by the Royal Mint.

Space precludes detailed descriptions of the coronation ceremonies or an in-depth discussion of the rulers in this article, and in any event it would be redundant to include them, since numerous accounts can readily be found on the internet. It should be understood that this is not intended to be a detailed catalog of all known varieties of each token, although some varieties have been illustrated. Rather, it will describe and discuss each of the medals that comprise the series.

 

The exact inscription on each medal is given in capital letters, with lower case lettering used to provide descriptive information. Inscriptions on the medals are in Latin, with the exception of the one struck in 1831 for William IV and the three twentieth century coronations. Following the medal's description, which includes a rough translation of its Latin inscription, the metal(s) it was struck in is given, with the mintage in each metal, when known, in parenthesis. The sizes, which are given in millimeters, are of the medals in my collection, and it should be understood that sizes can vary, so differences of less than one millimeter should not be considered significant.

To order:
TAMS Journal editor Greg Burns writes:

Ordering from TAMS
TAMS Secretary Donna Moon writes:

Ordering from Wizard Coin Supply
See:
Official British Coronation Medals, 1603-1937 (https://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/official-british-coronation-medals-1603-1937)

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