This is a great moment in British history: we have a new monarch for the first time in over seventy years, and our first king since the mid-twentieth century. There are generations alive today for whom this will be the first time they have uttered the words “God save the king”.
In this day-and-age of instant news it’s easy to gloss over just how significant this event is: the last time there was a change of monarch in Britain, the average house price was just under £1,900, wartime rationing was still in place, a pint of beer cost 9p, a pint of milk 4p, and only 8% of households had a fridge. Gold was just over £12 per ounce!
This is why the accession of King Charles III is being marked with a special commemorative silver crown coin. Introducing the 2023 King Charles III Accession Silver One Crown, the first silver crown coin ever issued for the accession of a British monarch, celebrating Britain’s new king, Charles III…
On the reverse of this new silver proof crown is King Charles III’s royal cypher; an interlocking letter C and letter R, ‘Carolus Rex’ inside which are the Roman numerals ‘III’, all surmounted by a crown. The roses at either side represent England.
The obverse of these coins is significant too. It features a portrait of the King by artist Jody Clark, with Charles facing the opposite way to his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as dictated by centuries of tradition.
It may surprise you to see that King Charles III faces left, but this is actually a tradition that dates back to the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the reign of our new king’s namesake, King Charles II. This tradition has not been evident for the 70 years during which we have had just one monarch, and in fact, for over 50 of those years, we have had only Queen Elizabeth II coins in circulation as the change to decimal currency in 1971 removed any coins of previous monarchs that may have been in circulation up until that point.
Limited to just 999 worldwide, you can purchase this 2023 King Charles III Accession Silver One Crown for a total cost of £79 HERE.