What Are 25p Crown Coins And What Are They Worth?

What are 25p Crowns?

These commemorative coins are instantly recognisable to collectors, but they can trip up when sorting through old money boxes. Particularly when some eBay sellers are offering them for hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

If you're looking to sell an old coin collection, it is essential that you know what these common coins are really worth.

Read on for a straightforward look at the four 25p Crowns and our honest price guide.

What Are 25p Crowns?

25p Crowns are a type of UK coin made by The Royal Mint between 1972 and 1981.

They are a continuation of the historic Crown coin, which was part of British money for centuries and was worth five Shillings.

When UK currency was decimalised in 1971, a range of new coins were introduced, and some old ones were repurposed. This included the Crown, which became a commemorative coin intended as a souvenir or keepsake rather than a regular part of our change.

These large, 28.28-gram coins were re-denominated with a face value of 25p. This value is not displayed on the coin's face, just like it rarely appeared in the design of old Crown coins.

Four 25p Crown designs were produced between 1972 and 1981, all for royal occasions, making them popular with fans of the British monarchy.

Crown-sized coins were still produced by The Royal Mint after 1981, but they took on a face value of £5 going forward. Older Crown coins, dating back to 1818, are officially denominated at 25p. However, when coin specialists refer to 25p Crowns, they are usually referring to the four commemorative designs issued in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Are 25p Crown Rare?

25p Crowns are not rare.

The large size of these coins (38.61 millimetres in diameter) can confuse those who find them in old money boxes. Similarly, the unusual designs can lead some people to think they have a scarce collector's item on their hands.

The truth is these coins were made in their millions.

They were sold at post offices and banks and can sometimes be found in branded packaging.

25p Crowns are often found in a square plastic case, branded with the logo of a bank or building society.

Most 25p Crowns are made from cupronickel, which is the same metal alloy used to make the standard coins in your change today. 

The Royal Mint also made special versions of these coins out of 925 sterling silver. You will usually find these solid silver coins inside the clamshell box they were issued in. The coins are brighter in colour than their cupronickel counterparts and display more fine detail, but they weigh the same and feature the same designs.

Solid silver 25p Crowns are comparatively rarer than their cupronickel counterparts, with mintage figures in the tens or hundreds of thousands rather than the millions.

Silver proof 25p Crown coins like this 1972 Silver Wedding coin were sold in a presentation case, often with a paper certificate inside.

What Are 25p Crowns Worth?

Most reputable coin dealers will pay you 25p (face value) for your 25p Crowns.

This is because they are very common: we buy these commemorative coins daily.

There is a collectors market for 25p Crowns because you can't find them in your change. Coin enthusiasts may have no choice but to purchase an example, but they should pay no more than a couple of pounds for them.

We sell all four 25p Crown designs for £1.99 each, including postage and packing.

Some marketing companies offer these coins for upwards of £50, and eBay users are attempting to flog them for even more. While these unscrupulous sellers may occasionally catch an unsuspecting collector with their claims of rarity and value, these coins are not worth these inflated prices. 

You should avoid paying more than £2 for 25p Crowns. You might even be able to get one for free if you ask older relatives to have a look at their coin collection. We bet there will be at least one in there!

Youthful Portrait Of Queen Elizabeth II

All four commemorative 25p Crowns feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

The bust that appears on the 1972 Crown, the 1980 Crown and the 1981 Crown was designed by British sculptor Arnold Machin. This was the definitive coinage portrait used on all British coins from 1968 to 1984. he legend around the bust reads 'ELIZABETH II D · G · REG · F · D ·'.

Arnold Machin's elegant coinage portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was used on commemorative Crowns and circulating coins, while a similar head can be seen on postage stamps.

Arnold Machin also designed the equestrian portrait that appears on the obverse of the 1977 Crown. British monarchs are seldom shown full-length on their coins. The image of the Queen on horseback, wearing her uniform as ​​Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards, harks back to the coinage of King Charles I.

Complete List Of 25p Decimal Crowns

Four 25p Crowns were issued by The Royal Mint between Decimal Day and the date when Crown coins were redenominated as £5.

1972 Silver Wedding Crown

Issued to mark Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's silver wedding anniversary. The royal couple were married on 20 November 1970 and celebrated 25 years in 1972.

This coin features Arnold Machin's portrait of Her Majesty paired with another design by the same artist that centres on Elizabeth and Philip's initials: 'E' and 'P'. This cypher is surrounded by swirling vines with a tiny cherub between and a crown above. The text reads 'ELIZABETH AND PHILIP' above with '20 NOVEMBER · 1947-1972' below.

• Standard 1972 Silver Wedding 25p Crown (mintage: 7,452,100)
• Proof coin in 1972 UK Proof Set (mintage: 150,000)
• Silver proof 1972 Silver Wedding 25p Crown (mintage: 100,000)

1977 Silver Jubilee Crown

In 1977, Elizabeth II celebrated 25 years since her accession to the throne. She became Queen on 6 February 1952. The Silver Jubilee was marked with parties and parades across the UK and the Commonwealth.

The Royal Mint's Silver Jubilee Crown coin features an equestrian portrait of Her Majesty with the words 'ELIZABETH · II D G · REG F D' above and the date (1977) below. The other side shows the eagle-shaped golden ampulla and spoon used during the coronation service, surrounded by a border of flowering vines with a crown above. Both designs are the work of Arnold Machin.

• Standard 1977 Silver Jubilee 25p Crown (mintage: 37,061,160)
• Proof coin in 1977 UK Proof Set (mintage: 193,000)
• Silver proof 1977 Silver Jubilee 25p Crown (mintage: 377,000)

1980 Queen Mother Crown

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother celebrated her 80th birthday in 1980. Born Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on 4 August 1900, she came to prominence when she married the future King George VI, becoming mother to Queen Elizabeth II.

The 1980 80th Birthday Crown shows a tiny portrait of the Queen Mother, surrounded by bows and lions, a play on her maiden name. This design was created by British designer Richard Guyatt. The text that surrounds the central motif reads 'QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER' with 'AUGUST 4th 1980' below.

This 25p coin is one of three Crown sized coins celebrating the Queen Mum's birthdays, including her 90th birthday in 1990 and her 100th birthday in 2000.

• Standard 1980 Queen Mother 25p Crown (mintage: 9,306,000)
• Silver proof 1980 Queen Mother 25p Crown (mintage: 83,672)

1980 dated proof sets from The Royal Mint do not include this 25p Crown.

1981 Royal Wedding Crown

The wedding of Prince Charles (later King Charles III) and Lady Diana Spencer took place at St Paul's Cathedral on 29 July 1981 in front of a global television audience of 750 million people.

Among the souvenirs produced for the 'wedding of the century' was a 25p Crown coin with dual portraits of the royal couple by British sculptor Philip Nathan with Princess Diana behind and the Prince of Wales in front. The year of the wedding (1981) is shown below with an inscription above reading 'H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES AND LADY DIANA SPENCER'.

• Standard 1981 Royal Wedding 25p Crown (mintage: 26,773,600)
• Silver proof 1981 Royal Wedding 25p Crown (mintage: 83,672)

Ordinary 1981 UK Proof Sets do not include the Royal Wedding Crown.

Are 1965 Churchill Coins 25p Crowns?

1965 Churchill Crowns are often lumped in with 25p Crowns.

These coins were issued to commemorate the passing of the wartime Prime Minister in January 1965. The portrait of Churchill that appears on these coins is the work of his favourite sculptor, Oscar Nemon.

Churchill Crowns do not list their denomination on their face. When they were minted they were worth a Crown or Five Shillings in old money since this was before the UK went decimal in 1971. As such, they are not really 25p Crowns (though, technically, that is their current face value). They are, however, the same size as the four coins listed above and worth around the same amount on the secondary market.

We pay 25p for each 1965 Sir Winston Churchill Coin.

Read more: 1965 Winston Churchill Coins: What Are They Worth?

How To Cash In Your Crown Coins

Since they have a face value of 25p you might think you can cash in old Crown coins.

While they are technically legal tender in the UK, you will find that most banks and shops refuse to take these coins.

According to the Royal Mint's website, 25p Crowns can be exchanged for goods and services at a Post Office. However, we found that our local branches did not offer this service for Crown coins or even old paper notes, so don't bank on being able to cash in these coins via this method.

We will buy your 25p Crown coins for 25p each.

We operate a trusted postal buying service, and you can also sell these coins to us in our office in Royal Wootton Bassett. We are unlikely to be able to make you rich on these coins (unless you have tonnes of them) but we can always exchange them for face value. Realistically though, it might not be worth spending the money on postage or petrol.