.jpg)
Jean Baptiste Merlen (1769–1850)
The Royal Mint's 2026 entry to The Great Engravers collection is a tribute to the work of 19th-century engraver and medallist Jean Baptiste Merlen.
Merlen was initially an employee of the Paris Mint during the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte. Following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Merlen looked elsewhere for work. In 1820, Merlen was hired by Britain's Royal Mint as an assistant to Italian engraver Benedetto Pistrucci. He continued to work for the Mint until his retirement in 1844.
Merlen specialised in reverse designs, creating refined, highly detailed engravings for the coinage of King George IV, King William IV, and Queen Victoria. Among the most famous of Merlen's reverses are the crowned wreath designs still used on Maundy Money, the shield-and-wreath motif seen on early Victorian Sovereigns, and the reverse of the 1831 Crown.
The 1831 William IV Crown
It's Jean Baptiste Merlen's design for the 1831 Crown that has been remastered for the Great Engravers series, joining such celebrated designs as Pistrucci's Waterloo Medal and Thomas Simon's Petition Crown.
William IV Crowns display the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom, with the arms of the House of Hanover in the centre. The shield is surmounted by a crown and encircled by a collar. These heraldic emblems are draped with a rich ermine mantle. On original 1831 coins, the reverse reads 'ANNO 1831' while the obverse bears an uncrowned portrait of the King by another Great Engraver, William Wyon, together with an inscription that reads 'GULIELMUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:'.
1831 Crowns were not issued for circulation and are extremely rare. These silver coins are found in scarce 1831 proof sets, issued in the year of William IV's Coronation, but only about 200 of these were produced. A similar design was used on more common William IV Halfcrowns, but it is the variant seen on the large surface of 1831 Crowns that is so admired by numismatists.
The Great Engravers Range
Jean Baptiste Merlen's mantled shield features across a range of premium proof coins, issued by The Royal Mint in 2026. These modern collectables feature a new inscription - 'INSIGNIA GULIELMI IV BRITANNIAE REGIS' - and pair the historic reverse with Martin Jennings' definitive coinage portrait of King Charles III.
- 2026 William IV Crown 2oz Silver Proof
- 2026 William IV Crown 5oz Silver Proof
- 2026 William IV Crown 10oz Silver Proof
- 2026 William IV Crown 2oz Gold Proof
- 2026 William IV Crown 2oz Gold Matt Proof
- 2026 William IV Crown 5oz Gold Proof
- 2026 William IV Crown 1kg Gold Proof
- 2026 William IV Crown 5kg Gold Proof
Every release in the William IV 1831 Crown collection is offered in very limited quantities, with the scarcest pieces struck in 24-carat gold. Two historic collector's sets have
Previous Great Engravers releases have sold out quickly and remain in high demand on the secondary market, particularly reissues of traditional 19th-century designs by Merlen's contemporary, William Wyon, such as the Three Graces and Una and the Lion.