1937 Crown

The 1937 Crown was originally intended to commemorate the ascension of King Edward VIII however due to Edward VIII's abdication, it was instead struck to commemorate the ascension of King George VI (Cruzi's Coins, 2009) and was the only circulation coin produced by Australia that year.

The crown was proposed by the then Federal Treasurer R. G. Casey who pushed hard for its introduction, thus spawning the nick name, "Casey's Cartwheel" (Cruzi's Coins, 2009).

A total of 1,008,000 coins were struck, and while the coin was generally not circulated due to its large size and its

Commemorative

A coin struck differing from the standard design to commemorate an event

 

commemorative nature, many did find themselves in circulation leaving the average circulated pieces ranging from XF to AU.

The 1937 crown is readily obtainable in

Mint state

A state of a coin that shows no signs of circulation

 

mint state but as the crown was distributed to banks by ship and rail (Coin Web, 2007) and due to the large open surfaces, they are frequently found with large

Bagmarks

Surface marks caused by impact from other coins during the handling process before the coin enters circulation

 

bagmarks resulting in an average grade of

Mint state

A state of a coin that shows no signs of circulation

 

mint state pieces ranging from MS62 to MS63. Finding an example free of significant surface marks can be quite a challenge though the coin does occasionally turn up in MS64 but becomes very scarce beyond this.

Strike is also of major consideration when grading the coin as the strikes within both years that the crown was struck vary to a strong degree such as with the

Mint state

A state of a coin that shows no signs of circulation

 

mint state example below seeming worn to the untrained eye:


While strike doesn't have much of an influence on grades up to MS64, where most of

Mint state

A state of a coin that shows no signs of circulation

 

mint state population rests, it certainly does have a influence on price with strong premiums being paid for well struck up examples, particular if they display a fully formed orb.

The Melbourne

Mint

a facility that produces coins

 

mint also struck 100

Proof

A coin struck from specially prepared dies to strike a superior quality coin not intended for circulation

 

proof crowns in 1937 - Learn more about the 1937 Proof Crown.

While the series was originally intended as

Commemorative

A coin struck differing from the standard design to commemorate an event

 

commemorative, it continued into 1938 with an additional 101,600 coins losing its

Commemorative

A coin struck differing from the standard design to commemorate an event

 

commemorative appeal - Learn more about the 1938 Crown.

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