Crown gold is a 22
karat (kt)
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductili ...
used in the
crown coin introduced in England in 1526 (by
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
). In this alloy, the proportion of gold is 22 parts out of 24 (91.667% gold)—and is appreciably less prone to wear than the softer 23 kt gold of earlier
gold sovereign
The sovereign is a British gold coin with a nominal value of one pound sterling (£1) and contains 0.2354 troy oz of pure gold. Struck since 1817, it was originally a circulating coin that was accepted in Britain and elsewhere in the wor ...
s—an important point for coins intended for everyday use in circulation.
Alloying metal
The alloying metal in England was, and is, traditionally restricted to
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...
. This is still used for the current British
gold sovereign
The sovereign is a British gold coin with a nominal value of one pound sterling (£1) and contains 0.2354 troy oz of pure gold. Struck since 1817, it was originally a circulating coin that was accepted in Britain and elsewhere in the wor ...
. An exception was for the gold sovereigns of 1887, when 1.25%
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
, replacing the same weight of copper, was used to gain a better reproduction image of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
for the
Golden Jubilee
A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations.
Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু� ...
of her reign.
Elsewhere, both copper and silver have been used in varying proportions.
Circulating coins
In the United States until 1834, gold circulating coins were minted in 22 kt. crown gold—although using about 6% silver as well as copper. From 1834, the fineness of U.S. coin gold was decreased from the 22 kt "crown gold" standard to 0.8992 fine (21.58 kt); and in 1837 to 0.900 fine (21.60 kt exactly). This 90% gold–copper alloy continued in the U.S. from 1837 until gold coins were
removed from circulation in the U.S. in 1933.
The South African
Krugerrand, first produced in 1967, is produced in the traditional crown gold recipe of 22 kt gold, (remainder copper), because it was originally intended to circulate as currency.
Bullion coins
Most gold coinage nowadays is not designed for daily use and circulation, so the requirement for a hard alloy is much less—and such
bullion coin
Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes fro ...
s are commonly of pure gold of 24 kt, 0.999, 0.9999, or even 0.99999 fine (see
Canadian Gold Maple Leaf).
Regardless, some bullion coins have stayed with the traditional crown gold standard, including the
British sovereign
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...
, the
Krugerrand, and
American Gold Eagles.
See also
*
The Great Debasement
The Great Debasement (1544–1551) was a currency debasement policy introduced in 1544 England under the order of Henry VIII which saw the amount of precious metal in gold and silver coins reduced and in some cases replaced entirely with cheaper ba ...
References
External links
Metal Used in Coins and Medals by Tony Clayton
{{Jewellery
Gold
Coins
Precious metal alloys
Numismatics
History of British coinage