THE 'WREATH' CROWN SERIES FROM 1927 TO 1936
Despite the fact that George V had reigned for over 25 years, the issue of crowns for this monarch spans only 10 years. The absence of a crown in 1911 was a major omission on the numismatic scene, especially as three different types of proof sets were struck.
The Deputy Master of the Royal Mint announced at the time that the crown piece may 'now be considered to be definitely abandoned'. Ironically, the series of George V crowns were later to be dominated by one of the most famous and sought after types now known as the 'wreath crown' which can be regarded as the last series of circulating crowns as a true denomination bearing an identical design from 1927 (the proof issue of which there are 15,030 in the sets) to 1936. For the first time the mark of the denomination 'CROWN' appeared. The obverse designed by Sir Bertram MacKennal and reverse by George Kruger Gray.
The 'wreath' series was struck in 0.500 silver, although interestingly in recent XRF (x-ray tests) the silver content has ranged from 58% to 73%. Of the series, by far the rarest is the 1934 of which just 932 were made. There are also a handful of proofs for each year from 1928 to 1936. They were nicknamed the 'Christmas Crown' as they were issued to VIPs at Christmas time each year.
The coins are not the easiest to grade accurately and it's rare to get low grade examples unless of course they are counterfeits which have flooded the market from China, often with fake dark brown 'toning' and grading at around VF. One of the devices to look for in order to grade a 'wreath crown' is the orb in the centre of the reverse of the coin. If this is fully struck up then generally, but not always, it can be considered to be EF or better.
Some 20 years ago a wealthy collector based in Essex decided to attempt to collect as many of the 1934 crowns that he could. His aim was to corner the market by obtaining all 932. After a few years he had amassed some 50 to 60 examples; an impressive collection. However, at some point, his goal was abandoned and he decided to resell on a well-known auction site. This caused the average prices to fall from £3,500 to some £1,800 - £2,000 as he had flooded the site. A task he never achieved and one which may well have lost him money!
Values for these coins have always been strong. It's interesting to note that my Seaby catalogue from 1949 singles out the 1936 George V 'wreath' Crown and values it at £6 in EF!
By Martin Platt of Cornwall